asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will make further appointments to the turnover tax inquiry to help Mr. Gordon Richardson.

I am happy to say that Mr. H. A. Benson and Sir Donald MacDougall have accepted my invitations to join Mr. Gordon Richardson as members of the Committee to inquire into the practical effects of instituting a turnover tax in this country. Mr. Benson is a partner in Cooper Brothers and Company, Chartered Accountants. Sir Donald MacDougall is Economic Director of the National Economic Development Office, though in this inquiry he will be acting in his personal capacity.The terms of reference of the Committee will be as follows:

asked the Minister of Labour if he will set out in tabular form the number now registered as unemployed at employment exchanges in Scotland, Wales, North-East England, within a 50 miles radius of London, within a 50 miles radius of Manchester, and within a 10 miles radius of Stoke-on-Trent, respectively.

The following is the information required:

asked the Minister of Labour whether he is now able to announce proposals to implement the recommendations in the recent Report dealing with workshops for the blind.

The comments on the Report which have been received from the associations of local authorities and other interested organisations are now under consideration. My right hon. Friend intends to announce his proposals on the implementation of the Report as soon as possible.

asked the Civil Lord of the Admiralty what is the pension of a lieutenant-commander, ex-lower deck, who retired at the age of 50: and what is the pension of a direct entry officer of the same rank and same age.

£850 or £750 a year in the case of the ex-rating, according to whether or not he has served nine years in the rank; and £850 a year in the case of any direct entry who retires as late as the age of 50. These rates apply to those officers retired on or after 1st February, 1962.

asked the Postmaster-General what volume of letter post and parcel post was carried by British European Airways, the

asked the Minister of Transport what steps he proposes to take to ensure adequate passenger and

The required particulars in respect of British letter and parcel post conveyed by air are as follows:freight transport services for those areas of Scotland threatened by rail closures.

The Scottish Transport Users Consultative Committee, like the other Consultative Committees, can make proposals for alleviating any hard- ship which it considers might arise from the closure of a rail passenger service. I shall give my consent to such a closure only if I am satisfied in the light of its report that, where necessary, adequate alternative services will be provided.The Railways Board has not yet announced plans for specific freight closures. The Board is presently in consultation with haulage interests with the object of achieving closer cooperation among public freight carriers.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works whether he will state the average net contract price of four-bedroomed houses now being built for Royal Air Force offices and their families, excluding land costs and all external services such as roads and drainage.

The average net cost of a four bedroomed house of approximately 1,500 sq. ft. provided for senior married R.A.F. officers is £4,140. The average net cost of a four bedroomed house of approximately 1,060 sq. ft. provided for married airmen, and broadly comparable with houses built by local authorities, is £2,360.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he will make a statement about the satellite tracking station in the Seychelles.

In consultation with the Governor of the Seychelles, Her Majesty's Government is negotiating with the United States Government the precise terms of an agreement to set up a satellite tracking station on the island of Mahé in the Seychelles. When concluded, the agreement will be published in the Treaty Series in the usual manner.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether the trading corporation recently operating under Government auspices in the British Solomon Islands has been disposed of; and on what terms.

On the 30th June, 1962, the retail, wholesale and agencies business of the Corporation—an independent statutory organisation—was sold to the British Solomons Trading Company, a locally incorporated company in which D. J. Gubbay and Company (New Hebrides) Pty. Limited., has the controlling interest. The consideration for the stocks was to be determined by valuation, and the other assets in the sale were sold for £52,000.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he will make a statement about the arrests of armed anti-Castro Cubans from islands in the Bahamas.

I would refer the right hon. Member to the statement made by my hon. Friend the Civil Lord of the Admiralty on 10th April in reply to the hon. Members for Loughborough (Mr. Cronin) and Barking (Mr. Driberg).The first group of 17 persons, who were orginally detained, were eventually discharged since no arms had been taken ashore and all that happened was that the boat in question had come alongside the Cay and asked to purchase fuel. Such offences against Bahamian law as may have been committed were trivial. The second group of 9 persons were convicted and sentenced to fines totalling £50 each on charges under the Firearms Act, and were also sentenced, on a charge of illegal entry, under the Immigrants' Act, to 6 months' imprisonment if they are not deported. Their arms and ammunition were confiscated. I understand that they will be deported when they have paid the fines.