asked the Secretary for Technical Co-operation how the technical assistance programme for Latin America is developing; what has been done to implement the recommendations of the Committee on training in Public Administration for Overseas Countries; and how far it has been found possible to utilise in Latin America the services of members of Her Majesty's overseas services who have been retired prematurely after long and successful service overseas.

By December I expect that British experts will be working in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Peru and Uruguay. In addition, there will be a number of trainees in this country from South and Central America some of whom will I hope have come here under a scheme of training in which the Organisation of American States will be working with us.

While thanking my right hon. Friend for that Answer, may I ask him whether he is satisfied that Her Majesty's Government are doing everything they can—short of joining it and short of financial aid—to further the aims of the Alliance for Progress? Does not he feel that the United States can fairly look to this country to help to share the burden of trying to make and keep democratic what Persident Kennedy has called

"the most crucial area in the world today"?

I think that the fact that we are now starting a significant programme in Latin America is the best answer that I can give to my hon. Friend about my understanding of what he has said.

asked the Secretary for Technical Co-operation whether he will now make a statement about the action which Her Majesty's Government intend to take on the recommendations of the Committee on Training in Public Administration for Overseas Countries.

Yes, Sir. The Government are able to accept all the Committee's recommendations in principle, and a White Paper is being published today stating its views in some detail.

While greatly welcoming that reply, may I ask my right hon. Friend whether it means that the institution of advanced training and research recommended in paragraph 88 of the Report will be set up in due course? What is likely to happen about courses at Torquay on social administration which cater for Commonwealth administrators who have at least 10 years' experience in the field? Will that form of course be continued?

I require notice about the latter part of my hon. Friend's supplementary question. On the first part, I would draw his attention to the fact that the recommendation that such an institution should be set up was not a firm one but rather that the advisability of such an institution should be examined. We are urgently studying that proposal and we will announce our decision as soon as possible.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that we on this side welcome the adoption of the Report and hope that as many people as possible will volunteer for service?

asked the Secretary for Technical Co-operation whether he will extend the services of the Overseas Services Resettlement Bureau to include United Kingdom domiciled officers on local pay who have suffered loss of career because of the grant of self-government and independence to the countries of the old Colonial Empire.

No, Sir. The Bureau was established to assist the resettlement of officers who were recruited by the Secretary of State, or through the Crown Agents, and for whom Her Majesty's Government thus have a special responsibility. To extend its scope to other categories of people would weaken its ability to help those for whom we have this particular responsibility.

Does not my right hon. Friend appreciate that these men whom he is refusing to help are regarded as expatriate and expendable by the newly independent Governments? Does not he acknowledge the even greater moral obligation to help these men over those in the overseas service who are not domiciled in this country and who are citizens of other countries such as the Republic of South Africa and Germany?

This is a difficult question. We want to help all these people. It is a matter of the best way to do it. We feel that we have a special responsibility to those whom we actually recruited, and if we were to open this Bureau's services to a very much larger number we should, to that extent, weaken our ability to help those for whom we have this special responsibility. I hope that my right hon. Friend will not forget that, for example, in the professional and executive register at the Ministry of Labour there is a very good appointments service available to anybody who wants jobs at this level.

My right hon. Friend must accept a higher measure of responsibility to British ex-Service men who have been serving this country overseas than to Germans and South Africans to whom we have no obligation.

Yes, but we feel that our special responsibility is to those whom we actually recruit. The vast majority of these are British citizens. The fact that a few people who were recruited in this country happened to be citizens of countries other than Britain does not seem to us to alter the principle.

asked the Secretary for Technical Co-operation what plans he has for expanding the overseas services of the British Broadcasting Corporation.

The most urgent need is to make the B.B.C. services more easily heard in Asia, Africa, and Latin America and for this purpose the Government have authorised a major programme of new relay transmitters overseas.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that that is not the only problem? There is also the problem of the time of broadcasting which could and should be much more. Is he aware that, with the constant increase in the number of receiving sets in many parts of the world, the potential audience is constantly increasing? Why have we allowed the amount of B.B.C. broadcasting relative to other countries to fall so catastrophically since the war?

I accept the hon. Member's proposition that the more we can do the better, but we should be wrong to adopt what I would call a crude "league table" approach. There have been some increases this year, as no doubt the hon. Member is aware, but the most urgent need is to make sure that for the hours which we are transmitting we are adequately heard by the people to whom we are transmitting them, and that is our priority at the moment.

In view of my right hon. Friend's reply to the earlier question, would he pay particular attention to the urgent need for greatly stepping up broadcasting to Latin America, and would he make a statement?

The first need is to ensure that the hours which we broadcast to Latin America have a signal of strength and quality which can be heard, and that is what we are concentrating on.

The right hon. Gentleman talks about a league table. Is he aware that we have been overtaken by the United States, China, the Soviet Union and by the group of satellite countries and will shortly be overtaken by Egypt in the amount of broadcasting? Why will he not look into this matter and put the B.B.C. back on the map as far as the amount of broadcasting goes?

We are constantly looking at this, and I am sure that neither this House nor the B.B.C. would agree that it is off the map. It is doing a tremendous job for which we should give it credit, but I repeat that the first priority is to make the quality and strength of our broadcasts better than they are at the moment.

asked the Secretary for Technical Co-operation what steps he intends to take among school leavers and university graduates to bring to their attention the opportunities for voluntary work in under-developed countries.

The voluntary societies which recruit volunteers for service overseas arrange their own publicity. My Department has assisted them in the past and will be ready to do so in the future. I also hope to speak to students on the subject at various universities.

Would my right hon. Friend agree that we are only beginning to touch the fringe of the problem and that there are enormous opportunities which have not yet been understood by young people in this country? Will he get in touch with such organisations as employment bureaux and the youth employment service as a matter of practice and work through them?

I certainly realise the very great scope for development in this service. We are stepping up the programme of volunteers overseas from about 36 to 500over a period of only three years. A further expansion of the programme, as my hon. Friend knows, has been announced for next year. More expansion still will raise problems of finance and may also lead to some alteration in the existing organisations. But I hope that these problems will be solved and that the programme will continue to expand.

Would not the right hon. Gentleman agree that the real problem is not so much the shortage of volunteers, of which there is an abundant number, but a lack of finance and facilities to enable young people to go to serve in under-developed countries? Is he aware that this summer the International Voluntary Service, for instance, has had to turn away hundreds of young people from this country who were eager to play their part in under-developed countries?

The Government are providing at the moment about 50 per cent. of the finance for graduate volunteers and about one-third of the finance for school leavers. I think that until we have had further discussions a bigger contribution from the Government would be as unwelcome to some of the voluntary societies as it might be to my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer.

asked the Secretary for Technical Co-operation whether he will make a further statement regarding the publication of a White Paper on overseas aid.

The White Paper will not now be ready for publication before the recess, but it is hoped that it will be fairly shortly.

Would my right hon. Friend agree that it is very important that the information contained in this White Paper should be readily accessible to people in this country? If, as I suspect, it is a fairly lengthy document, would he consider producing a popular version?

I am glad that my hon. Friend has raised that point. The White Paper will be a comprehensive review and therefore it will be rather lengthy. I assure him that the possibility of publishing a condensed version is being actively considered, although I cannot yet announce a decision.

asked the Secretary for Technical Co-operation for what purposes he made an official visit to Bonn on 24th to 26th of this month; and what was the scope of his discussions.

Herr Scheel, the Federal German Minister for Economic Cooperation, invited me to return the visit which he made to my predecessor last February. He and representatives of private and semi-official organisations fully reviewed the substantial West German development aid effort, as I did the British effort. I am grateful to Herr Scheel.

Did this visit have any other special significance than being simply part of the normal process of consultation with other countries providing overseas aid?

No, there was no special significance in it. We try, of course, to achieve international co-ordination through such bodies as the Development Assistance Committee of the O.E.C.D., in Paris, but it is extremely important to keep close bilateral contacts with all the donor countries individually. That is what I was doing on this occasion.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary for Science what machinery exists in his Department, other than that of the Atomic Energy Authority, for selecting projects for development contracts and for selecting firms capable of carrying them out.

Projects for development contracts are selected by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research from proposals submitted by individual firms. Those selected are carried out by the firms concerned. The Council makes its choice on the basis of expert industrial, technical and economic advice obtained from the best available sources.

Would I be right in assuming from that Answer that there is absolutely no machinery within the noble Lord's Department for doing this job and that the function of the D.S.I.R. is an entirely passive one in waiting for projects to be put up to it, asking people outside the Department to comment on them and finally, over a period of two or three years, managing to place two or three development contracts?

This does not mean to say that the help is not available, nor would it be wise purely to have machinery which was confined to D.S.I.R., which, naturally, takes advice from those best qualified to give it, whether in industry or in Government.

In view of the Minister's negative reply, would he like to comment on the suggestion made in Civil Research Policy by the F.B.I, that his noble Friend's Ministry bears responsibility for determining the allocation of State aid and strategy. This recommendation was made by the F.B.I. Does the hon. Gentleman repudiate it? If not, what reorganisation of the Ministry will he undertake to do the job?

That is rather like asking me if I have stopped beating my wife. I tried to explain the situation in the debate on 15th July.

Is not the hon. Gentleman aware that what he has explained is that he was not doing anything about it? We are asking him once again whether he is telling us that the Ministry, with its present strength of manpower, is continuing to pretend to do a job which it cannot conceivably do without further manpower, as recommended by the F.B.I.

The essential point about development contracts, which are the subject of the Question, is that they should be proposals from the firms concerned, in which those firms have faith, but that where they need Government aid, the D.S.I.R. has ample machinery to deal with these applications.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary for Science how many grant-aided research associations have so far been able to obtain a rating reduction under Section 11(4,b) of the Rating and Valuation Act, 1961; and, in view of the need to give positive encouragement to research, what advice is being given to rating authorities with regard to this matter.

The information is not available since this is a matter for negotiation between the autonomous industrial research associations and the local authorities concerned. My right hon. Friend the Minister of Housing and Local Government has impressed upon local authorities the importance of giving sympathetic consideration to applications from bodies which are eligible under Section 11(4) of the Rating and Valuation Act, 1961, for a reduction or remission of rates.

Is the hon. Gentleman saying that he is not in a position to decide whether this is being put into effective service? Is it not an extremely important matter that the Government should be aware whether this method of existing research is effective and is extensively used? What will he do about altering the position, which, to judge from his Answer, is useless?

If the research associations consider the situation unsatisfactory, doubtless they will make representations to my noble Friend, who will, naturally, consider them with sympathy.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary for Science, in view of the fact that the Building Research Station is facing a spate of problems associated with industrial building, what increases of finance and staff he proposes for the Station during the next two years.

The non-industrial staff of the Building Research Station will increase by about 6 per cent. in 1964–65. The figure for 1965–66 has not yet been decided. The new physics laboratories which I opened earlier this month show the way in which we are providing improved facilities for building research.

While I am glad to know that the Government are moving a little forward, does not the hon. Gentleman agree that the rôle of the Government in building research must be much greater than it has been? Will he consider whether there is not great need for the Government to widen the field of the Building Research Station to include organisation, management and this field of activity?

The hon. Member will be aware of the new research and development unit which has been set up by my right hon. Friend the Minister of Public Building and Works and also the proposals which have been made for a building information and research association.

In view of the record of the industry itself, which, I think the hon. Gentleman will agree, is one of the worst in the country, paying for research and development out of its own resources at one-tenth of the national rate, would he not agree that the work of the Building Research Station assumes a greater importance? Is he content to know that whereas since 1950 expenditure of D.S.I.R. has gone up by 400 per cent., and of the Agricultural Research Council by, I think, 800 per cent., that of the Building Research Station has gone up by only 25 per cent.? Is this rate of increase in the Government's research and development really satisfactory in view of the deficiencies of the industry's own research and development?

I would not like to confirm or deny the figures which the hon. Gentleman has produced, but the gross expenditure of the Station has risen from £781,000 in 1961–62 to an estimated £970,000 in the next financial year. I fully agree that there is an increasing volume of work on research for the Building Research Station to do, but there are also the additional research and development and information facilities which are being provided by my right hon. Friend.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary for Science what plans the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority has for association with the British Nuclear Forum to be incorporated in the United Kingdom.

The Atomic Energy Authority supports the establishment of a British Nuclear Forum. It takes the view that it should be for the Forum, when established, to consider in the first instance the way in which it would wish the Authority to be associated with it.

Does my hon. Friend agree that this might be a helpful body for contributing to the provision of useful forecasts on atomic energy in the United Kingdom? Is he aware that in the United States more than 500 firms have been associated with this enterprise?

Yes, indeed. I welcome the establishment of a British Nuclear Forum. At least 15 other countries have such a body and this will, I think, be a useful one to act as the industry's spokesman when dealing with the Government or with the industries of other countries.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary for Science if he will give a list of the radio isotopes at present being manufactured in the United Kingdom, and a table of the establishments producing them; and if he will state the total of Government funds currently being spent in the United Kingdom on isotope research.

The processing and sale of radioactive isotopes in the United Kingdom are carried out at the Atomic Energy Authority's Radiochemical Centre at Amersham. About 150 different radio active isotopes are available in some 1,300 different physical and chemical forms. I will send my hon. Friend a copy of the Radiochemical Centre's catalogue.

Can my hon. Friend indicate comparative figures of expenditure on isotope research by other nuclear countries?

Not without notice, and some countries do not publish these figures.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary for Science the total number of earmarked research grants so far placed by the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research; and for what projects they have been placed.

None as yet, but the first will be offered shortly.

Am I not right in believing that the policy of earmarked grants was announced 15 months ago and that it is generally considered by many of the directors of research associations to be a valuable way of Government assistance, particularly in cases where the industry is not clearly defined or is particularly backward and does not itself encourage research? Has not the Department been extremely lax in not placing any contracts so far?

No, I do not think so. These projects are all very complex. They require detailed consideration. In many of the applications, they represent a substantial disbursement of the taxpayer's money. Dike the hon. Member, I am, naturally, disappointed that we have not been able to place contracts hitherto, but, as I have said in my Answer, I hope that the first will be offered shortly.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary for Science when he will publish the results of the further investigation into car safety belts by the Road Research Laboratory, in view of the need for early standardisation to reduce cost of fitting.

A further report by the Road Research Laboratory should be published in the autumn.

Will my hon. Friend bear in mind the need to publish these things quickly, because meanwhile the diversification in types of seat belt seems to be continuing and people wonder which is the best type to use?

A number of these studies are, of course, printed in the form of laboratory notes and sent to those who are on the mailing list of the Road Research Station. I would willingly send my hon. Friend a copy of any of the studies which he would like to have, but the latest study has, I understand, been accepted for publication in a journal and should appear in September or October.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary for Science if he will revise the terms of reference of the Trend Committee to enable it to consider the need for a scientific research unit to be attached to the Ministry of Power.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary for Science if he will revise the terms of reference of the Trend Committee to enable it to consider the need for a scientific research unit to be attached to the Ministry of Transport.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary for Science if he will revise the terms of reference of the Trend Commit tee to enable it to consider the need for a scientific research unit to be attached to the Scottish Office.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary for Science if he will revise the terms of reference of the Trend Committee to enable it to consider the need for a scientific research unit to be attached to the Department of Technical Co-operation.

The terms of reference of this Committee, which will report to my right hon. Friend, the Prime Minister, are wide enough to permit consideration of these issues.

I am sure that hon. Members will be very glad to hear that report, but may I ask the hon. Gentleman if he is himself happy that the Ministry of Power has sufficient scientific manpower to enable it to communicate effectively with the highly technical industries with which it has to deal? Is he himself presenting any evidence to the Trend Committee on this matter?

The first part of the hon. Gentleman's supplementary question should be asked of my right hon. Friend the Minister of Power. As regards the second part, neither my noble Friend nor I are presenting evidence to this Committee since we shall naturally have to take part in making decisions on the recommendations of the Committee.

While being glad to hear that the Committee has wide enough terms of reference to consider these ideas, may I ask the Parliamentary Secretary whether he will ensure bringing them to the Committee's attention so that it does consider specifically proposals for attaching scientific research units to each of these Departments?

I can assure the hon. Member that members of the Committee will read today's HANSRD.

Will the hon. Gentleman also see that the Committee considers the position of the Scottish Office in view of the fact that the Elgood Committee commended the setting up of a research and development unit in the Scottish Office?

As I said, the Committee, I am certain, is aware of these particular issues; but if it were not, it will have read today's HANSARD by tomorrow.

asked the Parliamentary for Science what form of liaison at present exists between the research councils employing geologists and pedologists and the surveyors and engineers responible for planning and building roads.

The Road Research Laboratory examines the specifications of all motorway and trunk road schemes costing over £1 million. Monthly liaison meetings are held between the Laboratory and the Ministry of Transport to discuss problems arising from road schemes. When appropriate, visits are paid to schemes in progress. If questions arise on which the advice of geologists and pedologists elsewhere in Government service would be valuable it can readily be obtained.

Is the hon. Gentleman really satisfied about this? Has he made a study of the history of motorway construction up to now, the M.6 and the M.1 being cases in point? Is it not clear that there is too great a gulf between the scientific backroom boys and the techni- cians on the spot? Is there not a need for a better application of scientific brainpower, and will he investigate the whole matter and particularly the importance of ensuring a staff of geologists to be at the disposal of the Ministry of Transport?

Any question about the staff of the Ministry of Transport is one for my right hon. Friend the Minister.

But would the hon. Gentleman take it up with the Minister of Transport?

My right hon. Friend could not be more keen on co-operating with the D.S.I.R. and other bodies for which my noble Friend is responsible.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary for Science when it will be decided where the sub-stations for the Meat Research Institute are to be sited; and what are the factors to be taken into account.

There are no present plans to set up sub-stations of the Meat Research Institute. A decision whether to establish substations will depend on the extent to which the work which is to be done at the Institute requires to be supplemented by work under conditions elsewhere in the United Kingdom.

Will my hon. Friend bear in mind, when he considers plans for these sub-stations, that we should be very glad indeed to have one in Aberdeenshire?

Indeed, I would pay tribute to my hon. Friend's pertinacity in asking this Question regularly, and I will certainly bear in mind what he has said, but I think it will be some time before the decision in this matter is taken.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary for Science, in view of the importance of the expansion of universities and colleges of advanced technology and of the need to increase the number of post-graduate students, if he will increase the amount and number of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research awards.

The Department of Scientific and Industrial Research expects to award up to 2,010 postgraduate studentships this year, an increase of 24 per cent. on the number awarded in 1962. A year ago the values of these awards were increased by an average of 23 per cent.

Has the Parliamentary Secretary's Department studied the relationship between the number of postgraduate students and the demands for university staff, and is he now satisfied that this increase will in future produce enough staff for the universities?

What we want to do is to have enough applications of first-class calibre. We must wait to see in the remainder of 1963 whether or not the number of first-class applications exceeds the number of awards which it is proposed to offer.

Is the hon. Gentleman saying that there are not enough good candidates to make awards to, that in fact there is a dearth of applicants? Is this the situation?

No. I merely said that we could not know the position of 1963 till 1963 was over.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary for Science whether he is satisfied with the development and supply of new types of scientific instrumentation in Britain; and what steps Her Majesty's Government are taking in this matter.

Significant increases in both output and exports have been achieved but neither the industry nor I are satisfied with the rate at which new and advanced types of instruments are being developed. The Government stimulate developments in instrumentation through their own considerable purchases and their support of research.

Yes, but what are the N.R.D.C. and D.S.I.R. going to do about it?

It is not for me to answer for N.RD.C. So far as D.S.I.R. is concerned, it makes grants to the Scientific Instrument Research Association, and, of course, it is very willing to receive appli- cations for development contracts from this industry as from others.

Is the right hon. Gentleman suggesting that there is no liaison with N.R.D.C?

As I have told the House before, there is a regular committee composed of members of D.S.I.R. and N.R.D.C. who meet together regularly to make certain that no applications fall between the sphere of interests of the two bodies.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary for Science what changes in the administration of his Department will take place as a result of the reorganisation of the Ministry of Defence, in order to ensure his continuing co-operation with the Minister of Aviation in the active propagation of a British space programme.

None, Sir.

In view of the vital interest of British industry playing as full a part as possible in space development, can my hon. Friend assure the House that no matter what may happen to the Minister of Aviation in the new organisation for defence he and his noble Friend will do their best to give positive support to a co-ordinated and purposeful British space programme?

Always subject to my hon. Friend and I meaning the same thing by the words "space programme" I think he and I are in agreement on this

Will my hon. Friend make a clear and unmistakable assertion that it is the Minister of Aviation who has responsibility for the co-ordination of a British space programme and that this will in fact be an effective programme?

My hon. Friend will have seen the reply which my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister gave on 13th December last year when he said that

"My right hon. Friend the Minister of Aviation has a general responsibility for space technology."—[OFFICIAL REPORT, 13th December, 1962; Vol. 669, c. 577.]

asked the Parliamentary Secretary for Science what progress has been made in the evaluation of the respective merits of the Vulcain and integral boiling reactor systems for use in ships.

The respective merits of the two systems will be reviewed in the autumn in the light of progress over the last year. The review will be carried out by the Working Group on Marine Reactor Research, advised by the Technical Advisory Panel.

Does that mean that there will be a final decision then? Will my hon. Friend bear in mind that many of us are anxious to see the actual laying down of the first British nuclear ship at the earliest possible date?

I have every sympathy with my hon. Friend, but the question of the actual laying down of a ship is, of course, for my right hon. Friend the Minister of Transport. There will, however, be a decision in the autumn as to whether definitely to build a ship and which reactor to put it in.

Could my hon. Friend do better than this? It is already nine months, according to my calculation, since the Atomic Energy Authority recommended two specific types of reactor as suitable. Could my hon. Friend not now, in the meantime, perhaps urge the Minister of Transport to initiate discussions for the building of two ships and not one, in case of any doubts about the respective merits of these two reactors?

A review will take place this autumn, and we shall then be in a position to see whether there are any doubts or not.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary for Science what has been the highest power reached by the advanced gas-cooled reactor at Winscale.

109 megawatts thermal and 36·5 megawatts electrical.

I welcome this information. May I ask my hon. Friend if he can state how this compares with the output of an equivalent reactor anywhere else in the world?

The advanced gas-cooled reactor is really unique, but I think it is worth while drawing my hon. Friend's attention to the fact that both these figures are in excess of the original design output.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary for Science what has been the highest power now reached at the experimental fast reactor at Dounreay; and what has been the average electrical output to the national grid per month over the last three months.

The maximum power reached has been 60 megawatts thermal, corresponding to an electrical output of 14·2 megawatts. This is the highest heat level at which a fast breeder reactor has operated anywhere in the world.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs what practical assistance he will make available to areas with heavy house clearance schemes to offset the shortage of professional staff.

My technical officers are already giving help and advice to local authorities with big slum clearance problems. That is one of the main functions of my new Northern Housing Office in Manchester. I am opening a similar office in Newcastle in the autumn.

Is the Minister aware that Oldham has been obtaining practical architectural advice from as far a field as London, and as this advice is bound to be both costly and remote, would he not now consider having a pool of architectural staff in his Manchester office which could be loaned to authorities with backlogs?

I congratulate the hon. Gentleman's constituency upon its speed and the efforts which it is successfully making to get the necessary staff by consultation or otherwise. I am sure that it is better for consultants to be employed by the executive authority rather than indirectly by the regulatory authority, which I happen to be.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs if, in his re view of housing subsidies, he will ensure that a significant weighting is given to those areas where the volume of slum clearance exceeds the average proportion of habitable houses.

Proper weight will of course be given to the size of a local authority's slum clearance problem, but I cannot commit myself in advance to the basis on which this will be done.

Is the Minister aware of the horrifying prospect facing local authorities with a heavy backlog of slum clearance? In his discussions, which I gather will be taking place in the autumn, will he specifically bear in mind the claims for some priority in financial arrangements for these 50 or so authorities, for otherwise the matter could be lost in the general arguments of the A.M.C.?

One of the main purposes of the review is to enable the authorities with the largest need and biggest problems to plan ahead with confidence.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs what progress has been made by the City of Birmingham Corporation towards implementing the undertaking given to him to dispose of the Barber Trust properties to a housing association, this being a condition of obtaining loan sanction.

The formation of the housing association has been delayed because of doubts over the Income Tax position. This is now being considered in conjunction with the Inland Revenue.

Is my right hon. Friend confident that the city council will honour its commitments to the Minister and to the tenants?

I have no evidence that the city council will not try to bring this matter to a successful conclusion as soon as possible. I very much hope it will do so.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs whether he will take steps to ensure that new tenancies for houses, provided by private developers, carry the same rights as previous tenancies which have been compulsorily terminated to permit redevelopment.

No, Sir—it would neither be practicable nor desirable to impose on new housing the tenancies of the superseded housing.

Has the right hon. Gentleman quite understood the point, that often tenancies are provided for old houses, not new houses—a new tenancy for an old house? It is hard for a tenant to move into another old house but without the security of tenure that he had before. Is it not necessary to make some provision to protect such tenants?

I do not accept that that is necessary. In fact, if we try to protect such tenants, we shall dry up the availability, such as it is, of new rented accommodation.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs if, when considering what kind of interim help he will give to ratepayers suffering hardship, he will pay special attention to the needs of seaside ratepayers.

In so far as seaside—or any other ratepayers—suffer hardship the Government are considering their position.

Is my right hon. Friend aware that there is no doubt that there is hardship not only in seaside areas but in other areas? He has promised that there will be some interim aid. Can he not quickly say what it will be, or do we have to wait until next year when the Allen Committee reports?

My hon. Friend is wrong in saying that I have promised that there will be interim aid. What I have promised is that the Government will be considering urgently whether any interim aid is necessary.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs whether he has now considered the representations of the Welsh Parliamentary Group concerning the status of the Welsh language; and whether he will make a statement.

Yes, Sir. I am appointing a small committee to inquire into this matter. Sir David Hughes-Parry has consented to be Chairman and I hope to be able to announce shortly the appointment of the two other Members.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that this will give great satisfaction to Welsh Members? Can he tell us what the terms of reference of the Committee will be?

The terms of reference will be to clarify the legal status of the Welsh language and to consider whether any changes in the law ought to be made.

While I congratulate the right hon. Gentleman particularly on his choice of chairman, which will be widely approved of in Wales, may I ask whether he will consult with the Home Secretary to try to deal quickly with an anomalous position which has arisen out of a recent court decision concerning the validity of nomination forms submitted in Welsh, which may become an urgent problem if we have a General Election soon?

I know that the Home Secretary has this point well in mind, and I will consult with him.