asked the Minister of Power whether he will institute a full inquiry, on the lines of the Beeching Report, into the operation of the nationalised fuel and power undertakings.

No.

asked the Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations when he proposes to open discussions with the other members of the Commonwealth with a view to the amendment or repeal of the Fugitive Offenders Act, 1881.

This matter is at present being examined by the Ministers concerned. As soon as our study is complete we shall be approaching other Commonwealth Governments in order to obtain their views.

asked the Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations what help was offered by Great Britain to the Government of Pakistan to relieve distress caused by the recent cyclone in East Pakistan.

Her Majesty's Government were grieved to learn of the heavy loss of life and widespread destruction caused by the cyclone which struck the Cox's Bazaar and Chittagong area of East Pakistan on 28th May. I am sure that the House will wish to join with me in expressing our sincere sympathy to the people of Pakistan.As a practical sign of sympathy Her Majesty's Government have offered aid in kind to the value of £50,000. Following consultations with the Pakistan authorities £30,000 have been provided for the immediate purchase of medical supplies and clothing, and the balance is being used to provide an emergency radio communications system for the affected area.Parliament will be asked, in due course, to approve a Supplementary Estimate. In the meantime an advance has been made from the Civil Contingencies Fund.

asked the Minister of Education (1) how many pupils at grammar and secondary schools in Wales are expected to apply for admission to each of the constituent colleges of the University of Wales this year; and what proportion of the applicants is likely to be admitted;(2) how many pupils at grammar and secondary schools in Wales are expected to apply for admission to the Welsh School of Medicine this year; and what proportion of them is likely to be admitted.

The number of prospective applicants from Welsh grammar and secondary schools for admission this year to the constituent colleges of the University of Wales and the Welsh School of Medicine is not yet known. The intentions of school leavers in the matter of university entrance, together with other relevant information, will be ascertained later in the year, when school examination results are known, as part of the standard inquiries made by the Department.

asked the Minister of Education what is the number of full-time students enrolled at the College of Advanced Technology at Cardiff; what is the estimated number of pupils expected to apply for admission this year; and whether all of them can be found places at the College.

As at 1st March this year, 943 full-time students were enrolled at the Welsh College of Advanced Technology.

asked the Minister of Education why it has not been found possible to use the buildings in Bushey Park for educational or youth service purposes.

My right hon. Friend is informed that as the law stands these premises could not be made available for use by a local authority. The possibility was none the less explored of using them for teacher training and for youth service purposes. There is however already a heavy concentration of teacher training places in this area, due to be further stepped up under current expansion plans, and there seemed no possibility of more than a very small part of the buildings being used full-time by youth groups in the area. The outdoor sports facilities on the site are being retained under the management of the Ministry of Public Building and Works for an experimental period.

asked the Minister of Education what additional allocations he now proposes to make to local education authorities, particularly in Kent, to deal with the backlog of work created by limited major and minor building works allocations in recent years.

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply I have given today to the hon. Member for Newcastle-under-Lyme (Mr. Swingler). The additional projects I referred to will include some for Kent.

asked the Minister of Education whether he will make a statement on the new Diploma in Art and Design.

The Diploma in Art and Design is the outcome of the first Report of the National Advisory Council on Art Education. It is intended as a broadly based, liberal award in the sphere of art and design, having a status fully equivalent to a first degree. As such it is a most important development in the history of art education in England and Wales. It is administered by the National Council for Diplomas in Art and Design, which is an independent expert body of the highest standing. This Council's first task has been to approve courses for the new diploma which will start in September, 1963. In order to safeguard the level and quality of the diploma, the Council has had to judge all applications strictly on their merits and to maintain rigorous standards. My right hon. Friend is aware that as a result of the Council's decisions, which he fully endorses, not all suitably qualified students will be able to find places on Diploma in Art and Design courses this autumn. He is also aware that there are parts of the country in which no colleges have yet been authorised to offer these courses. By a concession which was communicated to all art schools and local education authorities on 3rd January, 1963, suitably qualified students unable to find places this September will be able to proceed to shortened courses leading to the existing Intermediate Certificate and National Diploma in Design. My right hon. Friend hopes that re-applications in respect of 1964 and subsequent years will lead to a considerable increase in the number of places and to a more complete geographical distribution of courses.

asked the Minister of Education what reply he sent to the Cornwall Education Committee on its representations for the inclusion of New-quay Grammar School and Callington Grammar School in the 1964–65 building programme.

My right hon. Friend is at present considering the authority's representations about these two schools and hopes to make a decision in the near future.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs how many houses and buildings have collapsed during the last five years; how many have resulted in casualties; and what action he will take to inspect from time to time buildings which might constitute a danger to the public.

I regret that figures are not available. Local authorities have ample powers to inspect and deal with dangerous buildings.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs if he will now make a statement of Government policy towards the recommendation of the Sub-Committee of the Central Advisory Water Committee that occupiers of commercial premises may demand to be charged by meter for the water they consume.

My right hon. Friend is considering the Sub-Committee's Report and in due course he will make a statement on its recommendation.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs when the Pennine Way, which was designated as a long distance route in July, 1951, is likely to be completed.

As soon as a right of way has been created over a short stretch at the northern end.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether prisoners in Durham prison came from all parts of England; whether those alleged to have made erroneous statements during the recent inquiry will not suffer penalties in consequence; if similar inquiries are to take place in respect of any other prison; and what action he intends to take to make the residual complaint, admitted to be true, impossible of recurrence in all prisons.

Prisoners in Durham Prison may come from all parts of England. I am aware of no grounds for action against any prisoner alleged to have made erroneous statements during the recent inquiry. No other inquiry similar to that at Durham is proposed. In the one instance where the Visiting Committee was left with the suspicion that an offence had been committed by two prison officers, there was a conflict of evidence. All prison officers are made well aware that the use of excessive force is not permitted, and I do not consider that any further action is necessary to remind them of that.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he is aware that hotels are deficient in fire precautions because they need not have fire-extinguishers; what evidence he has of the extent to which this deficiency has operated dangerously; and if he will now take action to require all hotels and similar places to have fire-extinguishers on their premises.

It is intended to deal with fire precautions in hotels in the proposed legislation to which I referred in my reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Keighley (Mr. Worsley) on 20th June. The matter referred to will be examined in that connection. Whatever the potential dangers may be there is no evidence to prove that the absence of this equipment has caused loss of life in hotel fires in recent years.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement about the recent trouble at the girls' Borstal at Bulwood.

At about 7.40 p.m. on the evening of Saturday, 15th June, 24 girls in one house refused to go to their rooms after the recreation period. Additional staff were called in and all but nine of the girls were eventually persuaded to return to their rooms. These nine however rushed into one room, barricaded themselves in and began to behave hysterically. When all appeals by the Governor and staff to see reason failed, the door of the room had to be forcibly opened and the girls were removed. Despite violent resistance by the girls to this removal, neither they nor the officers suffered injury.There was a further incident of a less serious nature next day, when some girls refused to leave exercise. Two or three of them ran into a recess, barricaded themselves in and destroyed property.According to the latest reports I have received, the establishment has now returned to normal.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will state the precise hour, date and place where Miss Marilyn Rice-Davies was taken into custody; the precise hour, date and place where she was allowed bail under Section38(2) of the Magistrates' Courts Act, 1952; the amount of such bail; and whether additional sureties were required;(2) how many police officers, and of what rank, were present when Miss Rice-Davies entered into the required recognizance; whether anyone else was present at the time; and at what precise hour and date the authorities at Scotland Yard issued their statement that Miss Rice-Davies had been taken into custody.

At 11 p.m. on Sunday, 16th June, 1963, at London Airport. She was bailed under Section 38(2) of the Magistrates' Courts Act, 1952, at 12.15 a.m. on Monday, 17th June, 1963, at Marylebone Lane Police Station in her own recognizance of £1,000. No additional sureties were required.A chief inspector and a detective sergeant were present when Miss Rice-Davies entered into the required recognizance. No one else was present. In the course of a Press notice issued at 12.35 a.m. on 18th June, 1963, it was stated that Miss Rice-Davies had been asked to go to Marylebone Lane Police Station in connection with the investigation of an allegation that an offence had been committed.

asked the Secretary for Technical Co-operation if he will state to the most convenient date how much of the funds allocated under the Commonwealth Scholarships Acts has so far been expended; and if he will give an estimate of future rates of expenditure.

The total figure allocated up to the 31st March this year under the Commonwealth Scholarships Act, 1959, was £867,000. Actual expenditure during the same period amounted to £838,717. Estimated expenditure for 1963–64 is £522,000 and for 1964–65 £538,000. April 1965 marks the end of the quinquennium envisaged under the present Act.

asked the Minister of Health what was the estimated population in each of the administrative counties and county boroughs, respectively, in Wales, including Monmouthshire, on the last date for which such estimates were made.

I would refer the right hon. Member to the Registrar General's "Annual Estimates of the Population of England and Wales and of Local Authority Areas 1962."

asked the Minister of Labour how the British delegations voted on the motion at the International Labour Office conference that the South African workers' delegate should be excluded on the ground that he represented white trades unions only; and if he will circulate in the Official Report an analysis of the 135 votes in favour, the 3 against and the 57 who abstained.

The minority report of the Credentials Committee of the conference recommended that the conference should refuse to admit the workers' delegate of the Republic of South Africa to the session of the conference which has just ended. The United Kingdom workers' delegate voted in favour of adoption of this report; the Government delegates and the employers' delegates abstained. The details of the vote are set out below.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works why the development and renovation work at Lee-on-Solent is being expedited in order to be completed before the present commanding officer leaves in September; and why this work cannot be carried out under normal conditions.

The work at Lee-on-Solent is being carried out under normal conditions and its completion date has nothing to do with the departure of the present commanding officer.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works why the control tower and Nissen hut at Lee-on-Solent have been redecorated by an outside firm, instead of by Service or dockyard labour; what was the cost of this work; and why, with these further developments, the Nissen hut and other buildings recently redecorated are to be demolished.

:These buildings were painted, at a cost of £350, by the local maintenance contractor under his term contract. Service men are not used on work of this kind. Directly employed labour at the station was already fully employed. There is no intention of demolishing any of the buildings recently redecorated.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary for Science if he will publish in the Official Report in tabular form the amount of air pollution in the two years prior to the coming into operation of the Clean Air Act, and in the

:The following tables give this information in repect of those named sites where measurements have been made for a complete year, both during the two year period ending 31st March, 1957 (i.e. that preceding the Clean Air Act 1956) and during the two year period ending 31st March, 1962 (i.e. the most recent for which the data are available).

asked the Parliamentary Secretary for Science if he will have special observations and measurements taken by day and night of air pollution in Trafford Park, Ambergate, Peak Forest and Chatterley.

No. Measurements are made by the Warren Spring Laboratory of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research for research purposes and normally by local authorities for local control purposes and for the national survey of air pollution. They are not usually made separately by day and by night. Daily measurements of smoke and sulphur dioxide and monthly measurements of grit and dust fall are being made by local authorities in the Trafford Park area. No measurements are at present being made at Ambergate, Peak Forest or Chatterley. I am not aware of special circumstances requiring extension of existing arrangements.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary for Science if he will take measurements of air pollution by day and night in areas within North Staffordshire, where old firing methods for all purposes in manufacturing are still used.

No. Separate measurements are not usually made by day and by night. Daily measurements of smoke and sulphur dioxide are at present being made by the local authorities, as part of the national survey of air pollution, in the following places in North Staffordshire—Leek, Biddulph, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Stoke-on-Trent and Stafford. I am not aware of any circumstances requiring extension of these arrangements but I would, of course, be glad to consider the need for taking measurements at any specific locations the hon. Member may care to bring to my notice.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what proposals he has for the review of local government in Scotland.

I am presenting today a White Paper on The Modernisation of Local Government in Scotland. I intend that discussion should take place with the local authority associations and other interests concerned when they have had an opportunity of studying it.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) if he will give the cost of the Income Tax age exemption provisions and the associated marginal relief for 1963–64;

The yield from abolishing age exemption would be about £5 million, of which about £2 million is attributable to marginal relief; the additional yield from abolishing age relief would be about £12 million, of which about £3 million is attributable to marginal age relief. The yield from abolishing both age exemption and age relief would therefore be about £17 million.