asked the Minister of Labour what estimate he has made of the unemployment of railwaymen which will result from the closure of the railway line from Newcastle to the Tynemouth area.

I understand that the Railways Board estimates that if this closure takes place there will be a reduction of some 17 posts, but that it can offer alternative employment to all those affected.

asked the Minister of Labour what facilities are available for industrial training and re-training under the Government's scheme for unemployed juveniles and adults in West Durham apart from continuous educational technical colleges provided by the County education authority at Durham, Bishop Auckland and Consett.

There is a Government Training Centre at Tursdale, near Durham, providing almost 100 adult training places and 48 first year apprenticeship training places.

asked the Minister of Labour what loss of employment he expects to be caused in creameries in the south-west of Scotland by the shortage of milk for manufacturing purposes; and what action he is taking to safeguard employment.

In the counties of Dumfries, Kirkcudbright and Wigtown one employer has informed our local officers that 13 workers have been temporarily suspended because of a shortage of milk but it is hoped that these will be re-employed within 2 to 4 weeks. We know of no other threat to employment in the industry in the area.

asked the Minister of Labour if he will state the number and percentage of persons unemployed in the Stornoway area at the latest count, and the numbers in Barra, South Uist, North Uist and Benbecula; and what firm prospects there are of continuing insurable employment being provided locally in the immediate future.

On 13th January, 1,534 or 27·7 per cent. and 141, 191, 111 and 42 respectively.I have no fresh information of new jobs in prospect for these areas at the present time but they do of course all remain eligible for assistance under the Local Employment Acts.

asked the Minister of Labour how many applications for work vouchers have been received under the Commonwealth Immigrants Act in each category; how many have been issued in each category; and how many have lapsed.

Up to 27th December, 1963, the number of applications received for category A vouchers was 17,337, and 10,832 vouchers had been issued; in category B 16,549 applications had been received and 15,513 vouchers issued; in category C 312,962 applications had been received and 40,146 vouchers had been issued. By the same date 13,132 vouchers had been returned to, the Ministry because their validity had expired or because their holders no longer required them. I regret that the figure of returned vouchers cannot be given by categories.

asked the Minister of Labour what is the breakdown by country of origin of the work vouchers applied for, lapsed, and issued since the coming into force of the Commonwealth Immigrants Act.

The following is the information requested to the latest available date:

asked the Minister of Labour what steps he is taking to increase the number of building craftsmen in those trades and those areas where there are serious shortages.

By the end of 1964 training places in building trades in Government Training Centres will have been increased from the present figure of 420 to just over 1,400 from which an annual output of about 2,400 trainees is

ESTIMATER NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES IN EMPLOYMENT EXCHANGE AREAS IN FIFE
—		mid-1957		mid-1958		mid-1959		mid-1960		mid-1961		mid-1962
		M	F	M	F	M	F	M	F	M	F	M	F
Anstruther	…	1,666	949	1,647	747	1,710	778	1,712	720	1,662	849	1,657	769
Cupar	…	6,040	3,130	5,631	3,023	5,818	2,732	5,880	3,017	5,946	2,905	6,363	3,027
*Dunfermline/Inver-keithing		20,766	8,859	20,456	8,435	20,412	8,461	20,600	8,688	20,601	8,473	20,431	8,793
Cowdenbeath		16,707	3,898	16,498	4,210	15,495	4,095	14,154	4,074	13,640	3,964	12,627	3,963
Burntisland	…	3,004	615	2,869	546	2,265	607	2,160	579	2,475	574	2,525	532
*Kirkcaldy/Glenrothes		19,628	11,123	20,148	10,588	21,212	11,184	21,851	11,195	21,737	11,319	21,711	12,518
Leven and Methil		15,005	3,757	14,578	4,044	13,448	4,183	11,989	4,065	12,001	4,241	12,168	4,170
St. Andrews/Tayport		3,665	2,591	3,621	2,627	3,492	2,676	3,640	2,696	3,743	2,742	3,616	2,692
* Separate figures are not available.

asked the Minister of Labour what were the ratios of wholly-unemployed girls to unfilled vacancies for girls in Scotland and the Midlands at the relevant dates in January.

In January for every 100 wholly unemployed girls there were 66 unfilled vacancies in Scotland and 968 in the Midlands Region.

asked the Minister of Labour what is the latest figure available for registered disabled unemployed in Edinburgh; and how many of these have been unemployed for more than twelve months.

On 9th December, 1963, 423 registered disabled persons were unemployed in Edinburgh. The latest date on which information about duration of unemployment is available is 15th July, 1963, when 329 registered disabled persons

asked the Minister of Labour what was the number of insured workers, male and female respectively, in each employment exchange area in Fife in 1957 and in each year thereafter to the latest, available date.

Following is the information:were unemployed, of whom 132 had been unemployed for more than one year.

asked the Minister of Labour if he is aware of the decline in the number of apprenticeships being entered into by boys in Scotland; and what plans he has to arrest this decline.

Fewer boys obtained apprenticeships in 1963 than in the record year 1962, though the proportion of boys doing so was considerably higher in Scotland than in England and Wales. The combined effect of the Government's programme for promoting industrial development in Scotland and the enactment of the Industrial Training Bill should be to increase training opportunities of all kinds.

asked the Minister of Labour what was the number of industrial stoppages in the two-month period November-December, 1963, under the heads, wages, claims for increases, and working arrangements, rules and discipline and trade union status.

The table below sets out the numbers of stoppages of work which began in November or December, 1963, according to the principal cause of each stoppage:

Wages
claims for increases	68
other wage disputes	56
Hours of labour	4
Empolyment of particular classes or persons	60
Other working arrangements, rules and discipline	82
Trade union status	8
Sympathetic action	3
Total	281

These figures are provisional.The total number of workers directly involved in these stoppages was 65,600.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he will circulate in HANSARD a list of those nations which now have, and those which have not, adhered to the partial test-ban agreement.

This information was contained in the Answer which I gave to the hon. Gentleman the Member for Ashfield (Mr. Warbey) on 18th November. No Government has acceded to the treaty since that date.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he will enter into consultations with the United States Government with a view to making the enforcement of paternity orders served on United States soldiers in this country more effective.

No. The enforcement of affiliation orders made against United States servicemen serving in this country is a matter for the courts. Such United States servicemen are subject to the normal processes of enforcement and, as far as I am aware, this enforcement presents no unusual difficulties. Any proposals for a change in the law would be a matter for my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether Her Majesty's Government have received a notification from the Registrar of the International Court of Justice, under Article 63 (1) of the Statutes of the International Court of Justice, in regard to the cases relating to South West Africa now pending before the Court.

No. Her Majesty's Government, as a member of the United Nations, were, however, notified of the institution of proceedings through the Secretary-General of the United Nations, in accordance with Article 40, paragraph 3, of the Statute of the Court.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether Malaysia is to be designated as a State involving the implementation of Article 4 of the South East Asia Treaty 1954 in the event of armed attack against Malaysian territory.

No. Designation has to be unanimous and it is most unlikely that unanimity would be forthcoming in present circumstances, even if this proposal were acceptable to the Government of Malaysia.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what weekly periodicals were purchased by his Department for the discharge of his official duties in the week ending 18th January, 1964.

One hundred and forty periodicals are habitually purchased each week by Her Majesty's Stationery Office for use in the Foreign Office.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what representations he has received from the Governments of friendly nations concerning the granting of long-term credits to the Soviet Union for the purpose of financing Soviet purchases of food; and what answer he has made to these representations, in view of the severe drought in the Soviet Union in the spring and summer of 1963.

None.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what action Her Majesty's Government are now taking to reach agreement on multilateral disarmament.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what instructions he has given to the British representative at the Geneva Disarmament Conference.

I hope to go to Geneva after my visit, with my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister, to Ottawa and Washington. I will then formulate proposals which need not necessarily take the form of a new and independent plan, but which would take account of the interests of our allies. I hope that progress can be made on preliminary or collateral steps, so that genuine negotiations for general and complete disarmament can proceed. I am sure that, before they are far advanced, detailed technical studies will be needed on many crucial points. No treaty will be possible until this work has been done.This is how I see the problem as a whole, and instructions in this sense have been given to my hon. Friend the Minister of State at Geneva. As I have indicated, my forthcoming visit to Washington will give me the opportunity to discuss these matters with the Americans.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he will publish details of the replacements or spare parts of military vehicles or weapons which have been supplied to South Africa during the past 12 months, such as could be used for internal suppression.

It has been the practice of successive Governments not to disclose information about arms supplied to other countries.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he will outline the methods by which distinction is made between arms supplied to South Africa in fulfilment of external obligations and those supplied which might or could be used for internal suppression.

I would refer the hon. Gentleman to my reply to his earlier Question today.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs by what authority the British Embassy in Saigon issued a statement to the Press to the effect that the serving Royal Air Force wing commander, who died as a result of participating in United States military operations against the anti-government forces in South Vietnam, was visiting Vietnam in a private capacity as a guest of the United States Army and the Vietnamese armed forces and was riding in a helicopter as a technical observer.

In reply to a telephone Press inquiry Her Majesty's Embassy said orally that the wing commander was watching operations as the guest of the United States Army and Vietnamese armed forces. They were under no obligation to consult before answering questions about this tragic accident.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what information he has received in recent months from the International Commission in Vietnam; and whether he will make a statement.

I have received no recent report from the International Commission but there has been little change in the situation. The Government of Vietnam are pursuing, with resolution and with increasing popular support, their struggle against the Communist insurgency directed from the North.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he will list the Members of the House of Commons who are at present appointed to attend meetings of the Consultative Assembly of the Council of Europe as full or substitute members; and if he will give the average attendance of the Members of the House of Commons, of each of the three political parties, for the 12 months to the latest convenient date.

The Parliament of the United Kingdom is represented at the Consultative Assembly of the Council of Europe by eighteen delegates, of whom ten are members of the Conservative Party, seven members of the Labour Party and one the representative of the Liberal Party.Representatives from the Government benches are:

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance whether, in view of the rapidly expanding needs of the tourist and catering industry for trained personnel and the importance of such trained staff being readily available during the tourist season, he will now review the Seasonal Workers Regulations with a view to retaining workers in this industry without denying them Unemployment Insurance Benefit while unemployed through no fault of their own.

No. In practice a man will already have drawn a substantial amount of unemployment benefit before he is treated as a seasonal worker. It would not be fair to other contributors to pay unemployment benefit year after year to seasonal workers during predictable and regular periods each year when they are off work.

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance how many men employed at the Abbey Steelworks site have been refused unemployment benefit.

About 3,100 of these men are unable to draw unemployment benefit as the result of decisions by the independent adjudicating authorities made under the trade dispute disqualification provisions of the National Insurance Act.

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance how many steelworkers at Port Talbot who have claimed sick benefit have been requested to attend a medical examination by a doctor other than their own; how many in the latest convenient period since the commencement of the industrial dispute at Port Talbot have been visited by Ministry officials; and what delays have taken place in the payment of sickness benefit.

Between 23rd December and 20th January inclusive, 148 steelworkers were visited. All except 36, who were subsequently referred for an independent medical examination, received their sickness benefit promptly. Of the 36, benefit has been paid to 20 a little later—3½ days on average—than it would have been if there had been no doubt about incapacity for work.

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance if he has concluded his consideration of the question of making widowed mothers allowances payable in respect of children in approved schools, at least during the periods when they are at home on holiday; and if he will make a statement.

I am still considering whether some concession can be made by amending the regulations for this rather special type of case.

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance whether the unemployment benefit rights of the young men employed in the Tyneside area by the British Broadcasting Corporation for the purposes of its "Gallery" programme on the North-East of England will suffer as a result of such employment.

This is a matter for the independent adjudicating authorities.

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance how many unemployed people were receiving National Assistance, at the last convenient dates in Great Britain as a whole, the Northern Region, and Tees-side, comprising Middlesbrough, Stockton, and Thornaby, respectively; and, of these, what percentages were having their grants limited by the wages stop, respectively.

The figures at the end of 1963 were as follows:

—	Unempolyed persons receiving assistance	Percentage with grants limited by wage-stop
Great Britain	184,900	12·7
Northern Region	27,400	15·5
Tees-side	3,700	—

The figure for Tees-side relates to the Middlesbrough (West), Middlesbrough (East) and Stockton-on-Tees offices of the Board. There is a practical difficulty in estimating the percentage of wage-stop cases for this comparatively small area, and I am writing to the hon. Member about this.

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance from which trade unions, local authorities, firms, private persons and organisations he has received representations, in any form, asking that weavers in the Harris Tweed industry in the Western Isles be classed as employed persons, able to qualify for unemployment insurance benefit when out of work.

Since the Questions on the topic asked in 1959 and 1960 by the hon. Member, the only such representation of which there is a record has been a letter sent in 1960 by the Western Isles Constituency Labour Party.

asked the Minister of Health if he will state, for each of the last 10 years, the number of new cases of leukaemia reported; what proportions of sufferers were infants; and to what extent there was a relationship between the incidence and the results of nuclear weapon testing.

I regret that information on the numbers of new cases of leukaemia is not complete. The following table gives the figures of deaths, including those of young children.No relationship has been shown to exist between the incidence of the disease and nuclear weapon testing.

DEATHS FROM LEUKAEMIA AND ALEUKAENHA ENGLAND AND WALES
Year		Number of deaths		Rate per 100,000 population in age-groups
		All Ages	Aged under 1 year	Aged under 5 years (incluing under 1)	Under 5 years
1953	…	2,121	20	173	5·1
1954	…	2,160	23	146	4·4
1955	…	2,224	12	146	4·4
1956	…	2,315	11	145	4·4
1957	…	2,394	16	144	4·3
1958	…	2,386	22	141	4·2
1959	…	2,534	15	152	4·4
1960	…	2,694	19	152	4·3
1961	…	2,645	22	165	4·5
1962	…	2,707	17	151	4·0

asked the Minister of Health how many cases of leukaemia were included among the cases of cancer notified to the General Registry Office in the years since 1957 for which figures of confirmed cases are available.

:

NATIONAL CANCER REGISTRATION ENGLAND AND WALES, 1958–1961
Year			Total new registrations (confirmed cases)	Cases of Leukaemia (included in previous column)
1958	…	…	91,253	1,589
1959	…	…	96,542	1,797
1960	…	…	104,682	2,112
1961	…	…	105,563	2,195
NOTES:
(a) The figures for 1962 are not yet available.
(b) Registration is not complete. The increase in the figures mainly reflects fuller registration.

asked the Minister of Health what has been the total amount spent in each of the past five years in his attempt to dissuade young people from acquiring the smoking habit.

I regret that this expenditure cannot be separately identified.

asked the Minister of Health how many posters were printed for his Department with the slogan "Cigarettes cause Cancer"; what was the cost of printing; how many posters have been displayed; what has been done with the residue; and if he will make a statement.

About 550,000 posters with the slogan "Cigarettes Cause Lung Cancer" were printed at a cost of about £3,500; nearly 440,000 have been distributed for display; the rest are in stock and orders are still being received.

asked the Minister of Health what steps he is taking to intensify his campaign to discourage young people from smoking.

The health education campaign is being vigorously pursued. It has received valuable impetus from the publicity given to the recent American Report, which strongly reinforces the findings of the Royal College of Physicians that cigarette smoking is a serious danger to health.

asked the Minister of Health what assessment he has made as to the effectiveness of last year's campaign to discourage young people from smoking.

This is a long-term campaign and it is hardly possible to assess accurately its effects so far, but I am sure that the public, including young people, are now far more aware of the dangers of smoking.

asked the Minister of Health if he will state the amount spent on health education for each year since 1948.

I regret that this information is not available.

asked the Minister of Health what steps he is taking to make reciprocal arrangements for medical treatment with the United States of America in view of the facts set out in correspondence sent to him by the hon. Member for Hereford concerning Mrs. Bowen, of 28 College Road, Hereford.

The public provision of services needed as a basis for reciprocal arrangements of this kind does not exist in the United States.

asked the Minister of Health if, during the next series of confidential inquiries into maternal deaths, sociological background factors could be noted to provide a basis of comparison with the findings of the Perinatal Mortality Survey concerning the social class of cases at risk.

The confidential inquiries for the next series (1961–1963) have already been completed, and it would not be possible now to adopt the hon. Lady's suggestion; but figures of maternal deaths by social class for 1959–63 will be published in the 1961 Census Occupational Mortality Supplement, and these will provide some basis of comparison with the 1958 figures used in the Perinatal Mortality Survey.

asked the Minister of Health how many times he has met the Joint Censorship Committee of the Poster Advertising Industry on its refusal to display posters published by his Department in pursuance of the policy of Her Majesty's Government; and if the ban still persists.

There was correspondence and one meeting between officers of my Department and representatives of the Committee about a year ago. I have no reason to think that the Committee's views on posters with the slogan "Cigarettes Cause Lung Cancer" have since changed. I understand that it has accepted posters with other slogans. None of the posters was designed for display on commercial sites, and they have all been widely displayed elsewhere.

asked the Minister of Health if he will introduce legislation to make it illegal for packets of cigarettes to be sold which do not include a printed warning of the health hazards which arise from smoking.

No.

asked the Minister of Health how many anti-smoking clinics now operate in the United Kingdom; and if he will make a statement on the success of these clinics.

I know of 30.It is too soon to evaluate the results of these clinics, but I am sending my hon. Friend copies of two published reports on the clinic run for the staff of the Ministry.

asked the Minister of Health (1) if he will alter the grading structure for audiology technicians in accordance with the recommendations made by the Society of Audiology Technicians;(2) how many audiology technicians are employed in the National Health Service; how many of these are fully qualified; what plans he has for the provision of training courses; and if he will make a statement;(3) what plans he has to increase the recruitment of audiology technicians into the National Health Service.

I am considering the Society's recommendations. The numbers in post on 30th September, 1962 were 228, the highest since the introduction of the Health service. No specific qualifications are required. In 1958 guidance on training was given to employing authorities and these arrangements are proving satisfactory.

asked the Minister of Health why it will take about four months from its submission to him to publish the Cohen Committee's Report on Health Education; and if he will cause its publication to be brought forward.

This is the time estimated to be needed for printing and other preparations for publication.

asked the Minister of Health how many of the general practioner maternity beds provided each year since 1951 have been situated within the precincts of a consultant maternity hospital or a general hospital with consultant maternity beds, respectively; and how many in each category it is expected will be provided in each of the next 10 years.

I regret that the answer to the first part of the Question could not be provided without an unjustifiable amount of work nor can estimates be given for future years.

asked the Minister of Health how many deaths took place in ambulances on their way to hospitals during 1963.

I regret this information is not available.

asked the Minister of Health if he is aware of the death in hospital of a baby strangled by a defective cot; what action has been taken on this matter; and if he will make a statement.

The baby who died in this tragic accident was being nursed not in a cot but in a bed with what is called a restrainer; the hospital management committee concerned has issued further guidance.

asked the Minister of Health whether any of the three boards of governors, whose reports were not available on 9th December, 1963, and which were delaying the review of medical staffing, have now reported; which boards have not yet reported; and what are the reasons for delay.

No. The Boards of Governors of the Hospitals for Diseases of the Chest, of St. Peter's, St. Paul's and St. Philip's Hospitals, and of the National Heart Hospital. The Boards have difficulties of reorganisation. The review of medical staffing is not being delayed on this account.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he is aware that the North Sea Drilling Company has undertaken to drill for gas and other elements in the fishing grounds of the North Sea; whether he will consult British scientists and other nations accustomed to using those fishing grounds about this matter; and if he will make a statement on the location and effect on the fishing industry of this proposed drilling.

I have no information about this company. We are of course aware of the possibility of drilling in the North Sea but so far only surveys have been made.My Department, the Scottish Office and the Ministry of Power, will of course, keep in close touch about the fishing industry, after taking the appropriate scientific advice.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what steps he has taken, either alone or in conjunction with other nations, to develop and increase by breeding schemes or otherwise the potentialities of the fishing grounds of the North Sea.

The conservation measures that we and other North Sea countries have adopted for some years are aimed at improving the potentialities of the fishing grounds. It is far too early to say whether the pilot scale experiment in artificial breeding of plaice at Port Erin will be successful or could eventually lead to an increase in stocks in the North Sea.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he will introduce legislation to protect the tenant farmer; and if he will make a statement on the tenant farmer's position where the landlord refuses to extend his tenure.

Tenant farmers alreadly enjoy a substantial degree of security of tenure under the Agricultural Holdings Act, 1948. In particular any normal tenancy continues indefinitely unless a notice to quit is given for one of seven specified reasons or if confirmed by the Agricultural Land Tribunal. If the hon. Member will let me know of any specific point he has in mind I will gladly arrange for it to be considered.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he is aware that some flocks infected with fowl pest and previously treated with the vaccine show worse symptoms of paralysis than non-vaccinated birds; and if he will give details of the information he has received on this matter.

I am aware of one large flock reared under intensive conditions and said to have been fully vaccinated in which fowl pest was confirmed and paralysis was more acute and more widespread than is normal in an unvaccinated flock. This is the only case of its kind on record and in general disease symptoms in vaccinated flocks are markedly less severe than those in unvaccinated flocks.The laboratory investigation of the virus which was recovered from this flock showed that its behaviour under test was within the range of other known field strains of virus responsible for sub-acute fowl pest. Detailed investigations were made for other diseases which might have contributed to the high incidence of paralysis, but all laboratory tests for these were negative. A number of other outbreaks of fowl pest confirmed in vaccinated and unvaccinated flocks in the same district as the outbreak in question were attributed to spread from it, and in all of these the disease ran a typical course, with no evidence of an unusual amount of paralysis.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what was the extent of the export trade in beef cattle, lambs and pigs, either live or as carcase meat, to the Continent during 1963; and what was the amount of the guaranteed payments made in each category.

Exports of live animals and carcase meat from the United Kingdom to the Continent in the 11 months January to November, 1963, were as follows. Figures for December, 1963, are not yet available.

EXPORTS FROM UNITED KINGDOM TO CONTINENT*JANUARY TO NOVEMBER, 1963
Lve Animals
Cows, bulls and calves†	…	…	19,274
Bullocks and heifers†	…	…	2,553
Sheep and goats	…	…	75,004
Swine	…	…	3,542

Carcase Meat	(i)Home produced tons	(ii)Re-exported tons
Beef	1,203	292
Mutton and lamb	2,087	415
Pork	3,345	154
Bacon, ham and other pigmeat products	433
* i.e. Europe as defined in the Customs and Excise Export List, 1963, but excluding the Channel Islands.
† Excluding cattle for breeding.

The amount of guarantee payments in each category cannot be calculated since not all of the animals or carcases would qualify for guarantee payments, and the rates of guarantee payment vary week by week.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many farmers in Brecon and Radnor have been notified that their land is to be re-classified for the purposes of the payment of Hill Cow Subsidy; what is the procedure for making appeals; and what is the period allowed for appeal.

Thirteen farmers in Breconshire have been notified that their land has been re-classified. The farmers concerned were given until 27th December to give notice of their intention to make representations and three of them did so. No land is being re-classified in Radnorshire.The procedure normally adopted by the Breconshire Agricultural Executive Committee in considering representations is that land is first inspected by a panel of Committee members, with the Ministry's divisional land commissioner present. The farmer may have his union or association representative accompany him to look after his interests. The full Agricultural Executive Committee later considers the report of the panel and makes recommendations. Where, in exceptional cases, Ministry officials feel unable to accept a recommendation, a full report is submitted to the Minister for a decision.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many apprentices are attending the first year of the apprenticeship training courses at Kirkcaldy Technical College.

Ten.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what steps he is taking, following the Trend Report and other recent reports, to study and solve the problems relating to the migration of certain species of fish from the fishing grounds in northern waters customarily used by the Scottish fishing industry, with a view to maintaining and replenishing the supply of fish in and from those waters.

The study of the migration of fish stocks exploited by British fishermen is part of the normal work of the scientists of the Fisheries Departments in collaboration with scientists in other countries. As regards replenishment of the stocks I would refer the hon. and learned Member to the Answer given him today by my right hon. Friend, the Minister of Agriculure, Fisheries and Food.

asked the Civil Lord of the Admiralty if he is aware that one of the Services issues free leave warrants for travel by air across the Irish Sea in addition to such free leave warrants as are issued for air travel between the Scottish islands and the mainland; and what inter-Service rule for free leave travel prevents the Royal Navy from doing likewise.

I assume that my hon. Friend is referring to the replies given to him by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Air on 13th and 20th December last. I understand that the Royal Air Force issues these warrants exceptionally between the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland because there is no direct boat service during the greater part of the year. A similar facility would also be given to Naval personnel when there is no direct boat service.

asked the Secretary of State for Air if he will make a detailed statement of the circumstances which led to the death of a serving Royal Air Force wing commander while participating in helicopter raids on anti-Government positions in South Vietnam; and what arrangements exist between the British, United States and Vietnamese air forces in this area to obviate incidents of this kind.

Wing Commander Lee met his death in a flying accident during a visit to an American military unit in Vietnam to observe helicopter operations. The helicopter, in which he was a passenger, lost its rear rotor, was forced to land in the sea and subsequently sank. The reasons for this technical failure are not yet known. Despite strenuous rescue efforts by other helicopters, only two crew members were saved and Wing Commander Lee and three other occupants were killed. I regret very much this tragic accident.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs, if he will give a preliminary estimate of the grant which will be received by Swansea Borough Council in terms of the provisions of the Rating (Interim Relief) Bill.

I cannot estimate how much any local authority will receive in total as a result of the Bill, because this will depend in part on the use which they make of their powers to remit rates on grounds of hardship.

asked the Minister of Transport (1) what recommendation he has received from the Transport Users' Consultative Committee about the proposed closure of the Cleethorpes-Grimsby-New Holland passenger railway line;(2) if, after having received the relevant report from the Transport Users' Consultative Committee, he will give an immediate decision on the future of passenger services between Cleethorpes, Grimsby and New Holland, in view of local anxiety on the matter and the need to preserve a direct rail link between Lincolnshire and Yorkshire.

The Committee has reported to me on the hardship which it considers would be caused by the proposed closure. I recognise the desire for an early decision, but it is already clear that the report on hardship and the representations made to me on other matters will require very full consideration, which may take some time.

asked the Minister of Transport what has been the outcome of the discussions he has had with representative organisations of local authorities on the Report of the Special Studies of Rural Transport; and whether Her Majesty's Government will now give special assistance to rural bus operators.

My consultations with the associations representing local authorities and bus operators are still in progress I will make a further announcement when they are completed.

asked the Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations what financial arrangements have been made by Her Majesty's Government in connection with the journey to Great Britain of the Sultan of Zanzibar and his family, and with their stay here.

On 13th January, the Sultan of Zanzibar asked Her Majesty's Government for help and subsequently indicated that he would like to come to Britain in the first place.In all the circumstances, Her Majesty's Government thought it right, subject to the approval of Parliament, to pay for the journey to Britain of His Majesty and his party and for the cost of accommodating them for the first few days.Her Majesty's Government are urgently considering what the longer term arrangements should be. Meanwhile, advances will be made to the Sultan to cover necessary living expenses. The House will be asked in due course to vote the necessary Supplementary Estimate and in the meantime advances as necessary will be sought from the Civil Contingencies Fund.