asked the Minister of Education what action has been taken on the Report prepared by the Committee of investigation into the structure of the public library service in England; what recommendations have been implemented; if he is satisfied with the progress made; and what further action is to be taken.

The main recommendations in the Report of the Roberts Committee are that the Minister of Education should have a general responsibility for the oversight of the public library service in England and Wales, and that public library authorities should be required to discharge a statutory duty to provide an efficient service. On the 15th December, 1960, my predecessor informed the House that it was the Government's intention to adopt these recommendations, but that certain problems needed examination by two working parties before legislation could be drafted. The reports of these working parties were published last December, and as I told the House on 5th March, I intend to introduce the necessary legislation as soon as time can be made available.

asked the Minister of Education if he is satisfied with the public library facilities in the industrial areas and the amount per head spent on books; if staffs are adequate; if salaries are satisfactory in relation to the service and status required; if the allocation of finance by the local authorities is satisfactory; and what action he will take.

I published last December the Report of a Working Party on "Standards of Public Library Service in England and Wales". The recommendations in this Report deal with various factors affecting the efficiency of the service, including book supply, staffing and premises. I have no power to prescribe or enforce any standards for this service, but in my foreword to the Report I said that it provides a guide by which all library authorities can measure the efficiency of their own libraries.

asked the Minister of Education if he will set out in tabular form the expenditure per head of population by public libraries and on books only, respectively, in the year 1956 and for the latest year for which the amounts are available in Buckinghamshire, Lancashire, Durham, Cheshire, Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester, Birkenhead, Bolton, Coventry, Preston, Reading, Salford, Stoke-on-Trent, Battersea, Hackney, Burnley, Rochdale, Hampstead, St. Marylebone, Westminster, Leigh, Eccles, Bethnal Green, Newton-le-Willows, Ashton in Makerfield, Knutsford, Nantwich, and Swinton.

I receive no returns of expenditure by local authorities on public libraries, but the Library Association publish certain annual "Statistics of Public Libraries in Great Britain and Northern Ireland ", and I am sending the hon. Member a copy of these Statistics for 1961–62, which I think will be helpful to him.

asked the Minister of Health if he will give an assurance that consultation on the future of the Warneford Hospital will take place with local authorities and other interested parties as early as possible before any decision is taken by the regional hospital board.

Yes.

asked the Postmaster-General if he will give the names of the organisations which have requested applications to be considered for pay television experiments.

I should prefer not to do so since I regard the matter as confidential at this stage.

asked the Postmaster-General if he has yet selected all the areas for pay television experiments; what factors are determining their selection; and to what extent he is taking into account the effect pay television experiments will have on other types of entertainment in the areas chosen.

The areas for pay television experiments have not yet been settled. A number of factors will determine the selection, including the question of obtaining a representative cross-section of different social groupings. I do not think that the effect of the experiments on other types of entertainment can be estimated in advance.

asked the Postmaster-General what estimate he has now made of the cost to his Department of the proposed pay television experiments.

I cannot yet add anything to my reply to the hon. Member's Question of 26th February.

asked the Postmaster-General if he will now state the conditions he intends laying down for those organisations which obtain a licence to operate pay television.

It will be some time before the terms of the licence are in final form. Meanwhile perhaps the hon. Member would like to read the General Requirements affecting pay television, six copies of which were placed in the Library on 4th March.

asked the Postmaster-General if he will now announce the names of the advisory group who will advise and control the pay television experiments.

I would refer the hon. Member to my reply of 26th February, 1963. Apart from Departmental officers a statistical expert will be consulted.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works for what purpose the building being erected by Her Majesty's Government in Horseferry Road, S.W.1, is to be used; and why the original estimate of £4,000,000 for its cost has been increased to £7,350,000,

The building will provide headquarters offices for Government Departments. This is a new scheme which is different from the one prepared 15 years ago to which the £4,000,000 estimate related.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what proposals he has for building new industrial estates in Lanarkshire; where he proposes to site them; if he will give starting dates; and how many new jobs will be provided.

My right hon. Friend proposes to establish a new industrial estate in Lanarkshire, but he is not yet ready to announce the site for this. It is premature to say when building will begin, or how many jobs will be provided.

asked the Minister of Power when he expects to announce his decision on the two applications lodged under Section 1 of the Pipe-lines Act, 1962, for laying product lines from the east coast of the United Kingdom to the Midlands.

I have asked the applicants for more information about their proposals. I hope to have this in time to decide before the Summer Recess whether to allow either application to be publicly advertised.

asked the Minister of Power whether he proposes to introduce legislation on the ratification of the international convention concerning oil and natural gas reserves under the North Sea this Session or early next Session.

Legislation will be introduced as soon as there is time for it.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will state in respect of each education authority area for 1961–62 the percentages of pupils completing the three-year secondary course before leaving school.

The information asked for by the hon. Member is given in the following table:

asked the Minister of Transport when he expects to make an Order restricting heavy traffic through Ashampstead as requested by the Berkshire County Council, and why the local legal procedure which appears to have been completed on 26th January last was not followed by prompt action.

The Order made by the county council relates to four separate lengths of road. I am not satisfied about the inclusion of one of them and am making further inquiries. I have now informed the council that the proposals relating to the other roads, including the one through Ashampstead, are acceptable to me.

asked the Minister of Transport if he is aware that cars park on both sides of the carriageway at the top of Cecil Avenue, Wembley, after the waiting restrictions end at 6.30 p.m., leaving insufficient space for two vehicles to pass, often resulting in one of them having to reverse into the High Road, thus reducing visibility and causing danger to vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians; and if he will take action to remove this danger.

I am aware that the difficulty which my hon. Friend describes does arise at times. But the accident record here is not unsatisfactory. I have however asked my traffic advisers to discuss the situation with the Wembley Borough Council and the police, and I will write to my hon. Friend when I have their report.

asked the Minister of Transport, in view of his responsibility for the consideration of future applications to close sections of railway line under the Beeching plan, and in order to enable an assessment of the economic factors involved to be made, if he will give the tonnage of coal, minerals and merchandise received at stations on the least used half of the route miles of British railways; and what is the total traffic in tons arriving at these stations.

My responsibilities under Section 56 of the Transport Act, 1962, which the hon. Member appears to have in mind, relate to the closure of railway passenger services, and do not extend to the modification of freight services. The points on which the hon. Member is seeking information are for the British Railways Board.

asked the Minister of Labour if he will state for the latest available date the number of registered unemployed at the Kilmarnock and Newmilns exchanges, respectively; and what were the corresponding figures for the same date in 1951, 1952, 1955, 1958, 1959, and 1962, respectively.

Following is the information:

asked the Minister of Labour how many persons were employed in the railway industry in Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley areas in 1951 and at the latest available date.

1,533 in mid-1951 and 1,145 in mid-1962. These figures include employment in the area of Stewarton Branch Employment Office whose employment figures are combined with those of Kilmarnock. They do not include some ancillary employment and may include workers employed by private manufacturers of rolling stock and equipment.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he is aware that on 2nd May an unlined tanker, loaded with 2,000 gallons of hydrochloric acid at Widnes, Lancashire, was sent on a journey across England endangering the lives of many people; and what steps he will take to ensure that such journeys do not occur in future.

I have no information about this occurrence. If the hon. Member will let me have particulars I will make inquiries.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary for Science if he is aware that the original estimated costs of most of the building schemes of the Agricultural Research Council listed in Class VII, Vote 6, Appendix III of the Civil Estimates, 1963–64, are greatly exceeded by the current estimates; and what unforeseen circumstances have caused these increases.

The original figures were provisional estimates of costs prepared before detailed plans had been drawn up. They are revised as planning advances and as it becomes possible to make more precise estimates. A number of the increases shown in Appendix III to Class VII, Vote 6 of the 1963–64 Estimates, are, as the footnotes indicate, due to major changes in the character of certain of the projects since their original inception. Other causes are increases in wages and prices, the inclusion of equipment hitherto considered separately, and the need for additional space or other requirements found to be necessary in the course of detailed planning.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many sheep were registered for Dartmoor at the latest convenient date; and how many of these were Scotch Blackface.

Only rams are registered and there were 939 in 1962, 751 of which were Scotch Blackface. As far as breeding ewes are concerned, I can only give the number on which Hill Sheep Subsidy was paid. In 1962–63, this was 37,729, including shearlings, of which 32,701 were Scotch Blackface.

asked the Secretary of State for War how many of the military type fork-lift trucks ordered from the United States of America on 10th August, 1962, were in the first delivery on 31st January, 1963; how many have since been delivered; what was the date of the last delivery; and when the order will be completed.

Although American components for these trucks were due to arrive with the British manufacturers in time for deliveries to start by 31st January, I find that in the event they were delayed by the strike of United States longshoremen from 23rd December, 1962, to 26th January, 1963, and the first delivery of three trucks was made on 30th March, 1963.A total of 25 have been delivered so far. The last delivery was on 8th May, 1963. The order is due to be completed by 30th June, 1963.

asked the Secretary of State for War, in view of the fact that a British firm, the name and address of which have been supplied to him, could have bettered the delivery dates for the 67 folk-lift trucks of United States origin, why the firm was not invited to tender.

The machines known to be available from the British firm concerned did not meet the Army's requirements. The question of better delivery dates did therefore not arise.

asked the Secretary of State for War if he will give the total cost of the 67 folk-lift trucks purchased by his Department from the United States of America; and what was the cost of assembly and partial manufacture in Great Britain.

£247,000; and £55,000.

asked the Secretary of State for War if he will give details of what the assembly and partial manufacture in Great Britain of the 67 fork-lift trucks of United States origin entailed.

This entails the manufacture in Great Britain of the masts, lifting-mechanism, forks and fork-carriage, lifting equipment, wheels and tyres. These components are then fitted to the engine, chassis and transmission which have been manufactured in the United States.

asked the Secretary of State for War why, since 1st January, 1960, a British firm, the name and address of which have been supplied to him, has only been asked to tender once when 29 contracts have been placed during this period with British firms; and how many contracts were placed abroad from 1st January, 1960, up to the present time.

The British firm concerned has been invited to tender four times since 1st January, 1960, but was not invited to do so on other occasions because the requirement was for a type of truck which the firm did not make.Two contracts were placed overseas between 1st January, 1960, and the present time.

asked the Secretary of State for War how many British firms were given the opportunity to tender for the 67 fork-lift trucks purchased from the the United States of America; why they were purchased abroad; and why a British firm, whose name and address have been sent to him by the hon. Member for Erith and Crayford, was not given a chance to tender.

None. No suitable British fork-lift truck was available from production to meet this special and limited requirement.The machine known to be available from the British firm concerned did not meet the Army's requirements.