asked the Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations whether he will now withdraw all British Service personnel seconded to units of newly self-governing territories in Africa; and if he will limit future appointments to an advisory capacity only.

It is already our policy to withdraw such British Service personnel as quickly as this can be done without undue detriment to the efficiency of the units in which they are serving; and, where requested, to replace them by advisory missions.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry, Trade and Regional Development whether he is aware of the promotional methods employed by American aircraft firms in their export markets; and what assistance or advice he has offered British aircraft companies competing in these markets to ensure that they shall not be disadvantaged by these methods.

If the hon. Member will let me have information about the particular methods he is referring to I will consider it. But I have no evidence either that the Americans use trading practices which are contrary to international obligations or that British aircraft companies are not competent in the conduct of their sales campaigns.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry, Trade and Regional Development what steps he is now taking to stimulate independent film production in this country.

I would refer the hon. Member to the speech made by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Trade in the Adjournment debate on the film industry on 20th December, and to the statement I made after Questions on 16th January.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry, Trade and Regional Development whether he will act on the proposal made to him by the Cinematograph Exhibitors Association and establish a tribunal of trade representatives with an independent chairman to deal, where necessary, with monopoly practices in the cinema industry.

No. This proposal goes beyond those which the Cinematograph Films Council has put to me on the basis of its broad acceptance of the recommendations of its sub-committee on the structure and trading practices of the film industry.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry, Trade and Regional Development if, in view of the Cinematograph Films Council's recommendation, he will reconsider his decision to sell the Government's share in British Lion; if he will consider giving an option to the National Film Finance Corporation to retain control of the company; and what steps he will take on the Council's recommendation to form a third booking circuit.

No. I would refer the hon. Member to the statement I made after Questions on 16th January. As regards the third part of the Question, I am giving careful consideration to the Cinematograph Film Council's recommendation that I should examine the feasibility of introducing a larger measure of competition into film exhibition.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry, Trade and Regional Development what safeguards it is proposed to insert in the appropriate contract of sale so as to maintain the independence of British Lion Films Limited.

The Board of Trade, N.F.F.C., and their respective legal advisers are now working on the formulation of safeguards and the means of maintaining them.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry, Trade and Regional Development what progress has been made in the negotiations with India and other countries with a view to devising a scheme for the categorisation of cotton imports.

I am glad to say that considerable progress has been made. A substantial measure of agreement has been reached with India, Hong Kong and Portugal; and discussions are proceeding with other countries. Full details are made known to the industry as settlements are reached, and I will gladly publish a statement in the OFFICIAL REPORT when all the negotiations have been concluded.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry, Trade and Regional Development what estimate he has now made of the reduction in the cost of living following the abolition of resale price maintenance, on the assumption that all applications for the continuance of existing practices are rejected by the judicial tribunal.

The ending of resale price maintenance on all goods which are now price-maintained would in itself certainly reduce the cost of living. The extent will, of course, depend upon the effectiveness of the competition which results and the number of exemptions granted.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry, Trade and Regional Development what representations he has received in favour of the continuance of individual resale price maintenance.

Like many other members, I have had a number of letters and telegrams expressing a variety of views about resale price maintenance.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry, Trade and Regional Development, if, in connection with the proposed Bill to deal with resale price maintenance, he will issue a White Paper which will include those parts of the Departmental Report on Resale Price Maintenance which it is not essential to keep confidential.

No. The report was the result of investigations conducted on the basis that the report would be confidential and it is not possible therefore to publish it.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry, Trade and Regional Development from what organisation he is prepared to receive oral representations with regard to the drafting of his Bill relating to resale price maintenance; and whether he will give an assurance that the tribunal set up to decide whether any particular resale price maintenance scheme can continue or not will be no more restricted in its judgment than the Green and Lloyd Jacob Committees.

I am not proposing to seek a further round of consultations with those concerned before introducting a Bill. On the second part of my hon. Friend's Question, I cannot anticipate the Bill.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry, Trade and Regional Development what are, or were, the business interests of the members of the Consumer Council; and to what extent it represents the views of small shopkeepers.

I am circulating in the OFFICIAL RE PORT a list of the members of the Consumer Council, showing their main business and other interests. As my hon. Friend said in reply to my hon. and gallant Friend the Member for Knutsford (Sir W. Bramley-Davenport) on 23rd January, the members serve, not as representing any particular interests or views, but in a personal capacity as a group of individuals who can speak for the consumer interest.THE CONSUMER COUNCIL

asked the Secretary of State for Industry, Trade and Regional Development at how many meetings of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development Special Committees for Industry in 1963 Her Majesty's Government were represented by persons other than civil servants; and, of these, how many were employers in the industries concerned, and how many were trade unionists.

None.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry, Trade and Regional Development what steps Her Majesty's Government take to ensure that the decisions of the Board of Trade Advisory Committee take full account of developments in Government policy.

The Board of Trade's policy is to encourage employment in development districts by the various inducements provided in the Local Employment Acts, 1960 and 1963. I am satisfied that the Advisory Committee takes full account of this policy as well as its own statutory obligation to safeguard public money.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry, Trade and Regional Development if he will accept a given rate of migration from any one area of the country as an indication of unemployment in that area, with a view to directing Government assistance towards it.

No.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry, Trade and Regional Development when he expects the advance factory at Stranraer will be completed; and how this compares with the completion date expected when the factory was announced in July 1962.

I expect that the advance factory at Stranraer will be available for occupation in June, eight months after construction began. The announcement in July 1962 was provisional and an estimate of completion was therefore not made at that time.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry, Trade and Regional Development what proposals he has for establishing closer contact between industrially-minded local authorities, central government and industry.

The existing arrangements provide good opportunities for the sort of contact which the hon. Member has in mind.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry, Trade and Regional Development what safeguards for the produce of British Honduras are contained in the new agreement with Jamaica, Trinidad and the United States of America about sales of concentrated orange juice in this country.

I understand that the agreement to which the hon. Member refers is concerned only with concentrated orange juice produced in Jamaica and in Trinidad and Tobago, but makes no provision for British Honduras. This situation is now being considered.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry, Trade and Regional Development if he will issue a report on his visit to the county of Yorkshire during December, 1963.

No, I visited the East and West Ridings in order to obtain a first hand impression of conditions in the region and to discuss matters of mutual concern with local representatives. It would not be appropriate to issue a formal report.

asked the Minister of Power if he is aware that there is a six-week delay in delivery of Coalite in the Bolton area; and what steps he is taking to ensure supplies are adequate in future.

Coalite is a proprietary fuel; its production and distribution are matters for the manufacturers.

asked the Minister of Power what is the total tonnage of manufactured fuel produced by the National Coal Board and privately-owned plants, respectively; and how far the total from these sources falls short of the calculated demand.

In 1963, fuel manufactured by the National Coal Board totalled 5½ million tons and that by other producers, including the Gas Boards, 22 million tons. Although local shortages of particular fuels may arise, total supplies should be adequate to meet demand.

asked the Minister of Power if he will consult the Central Electricity Generating Board regarding the undesirability of increasing the price of electricity pending a full inquiry into the justification for passing on increases in costs.

No. My right hon. Friend was informed of the proposal, but the bulk supply tariff is a matter for the Central Electricity Generating Board to settle, after consulting the Electricity Council.

asked the Minister of Education if he is aware of the concern of many parents at the danger to which young children are exposed in rural areas in having to walk long distances to school; and if he will now make additional allocation of money to education authorities to enable them to provide more free school transport in rural areas.

Where parents are concerned about danger, their right course is to approach the local education authority which can provide or assist with transport in suitable cases. Under the general grant system, no question of a separate allocation of money arises.

asked the Minister of Education whether he is aware of the growing concern amongst Welsh education authorities about the inequality of opportunity for their children seeking secondary grammar education due to the present tripartite system of secondary education; and what advice he has given to local education committees on this subject.

In Wales, as in England, the percentage of children entering grammar and comprehensive schools varies from one Authority's area to another. Several Welsh authorities are planning to change the organisation of secondary schools in their areas. With regard to the last part of the Question, I am sending the hon. Member a copy of the address which my right hon. Friend gave to last year's annual conference of the Association of Education Committees when he spoke at some length on this subject.

asked the Minister of Education what representations he has received from Welsh education authorities concerning the 11-plus examination.

None. Several Welsh authorities have, however, announced their intention of discontinuing this examination.

asked the Minister of Education how many children who have attained the age of five years since the beginning of the present school year have been refused admission to schools in Cardiff on grounds of overcrowding.

None, on grounds of overcrowding. All the children who reached the age of 5 years by 31st December, 1963, were admitted to schools in Cardiff not later than the beginning of term in January, 1964. It is understood that four children who had reached 5 years between 1st and 7th January, 1964, were incorrectly refused admission, but arrangements are now being made for their admission to school. All children reaching 5 during the present term, i.e., from 7th January, will be admitted to schools not later than the beginning of the summer term.

asked the Minister of Education when he expects to announce the new composition and constitution of the Burnham Committee.

My right hon. Friend proposes shortly to resume discussion of these matters with the local authority and teacher associations concerned. It remains the Government's intention that the new arrangements will be introduced in time to negotiate salary scales to replace the present scales which are operative until 31st March, 1965.

asked the Minister of Education what decisions he has made, following his recent visit to the Don Valley, to improve the standard of school accommodation in that area.

My right hon. Friend visited the Don Valley to see for him-self the working conditions of some of the schools and not specifically in connection with the school building programme of the West Riding Local Education Authority. He had already added two major projects in the Don Valley, valued together at £372,000, to the West Riding's 1964–65 programme and he is awaiting firm proposals from the Authority for a third project to which he will give sympathetic consideration. He has also recently approved a minor works allocation for the West Riding for 1964–65 of £425,000, an increase of £55,000 over the allocation for 1963–64 and was glad to learn that conditions at one of the schools which he visited would be alleviated by a minor works project which the West Riding Authority intend to carry out.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress has been made regarding the transfer of the supply and transport branch of the Home Office to the North-East.

My Department is considering several locations in different parts of the country, in consultation with the Staff Side of the Whitley Council.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department in view of the general public opinion in favour of re-introduction of corporal punishment for crimes of violence, and the increase in the number of attacks on the police, bank officials, wage collectors, Post Office servants and jewellers, why Her Majesty's Government have not introduced legislation to this effect; and if he will make a statement.

The penalties available to the courts for dealing with these offences are already fully adequate. I see no reason to differ from the strong view of the Advisory Council on the Treatment of Offenders that the reintroduction of corporal punishment would not be the right remedy.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the Crathorne Inquiry on Sunday Observance will report.

I would refer the hon. Member to a reply which I gave on 14th January to a Question by the hon. Member for Dartford (Mr. Sydney Irving).

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will arrange for one free postage delivery for each candidate in the Greater London Council election.

No. My right hon. Friend has no power to make such arrangements.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he is aware of the large number of cases before the courts in recent weeks involving the illegal possession by young persons in St. Pancras and elsewhere in London of drinamyl tablets, also known as purple hearts; and what action he proposes to take in view of the fact that these tablets contain an addictive drug and are injurious to health.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will take steps to make illegal the possession of all compounds containing amphetamine and its derivatives including dexamphetamine except when they have been prescribed for the person possessing them;(2) whether he will take steps to impose a control of the wholesale and retail sale of amphetamine and its derivatives similar to that imposed by the Dangerous Drugs Acts on other substances.

I am gravely concerned about the misuse of amphetamine-like drugs, especially by young people. I have drawn the attention of the pharmaceutical industry to the need to take closer precautions to ensure that such drugs do not get into the hands of those who traffic in or misuse them. I am also in contact with the Pharmaceutical Society about retail trade in these drugs. My right hon. Friend the Minister of Health has recently suggested to the medical profession steps to make forgery or alteration of prescriptions for drugs of this kind more difficult and to avoid the prescription of drugs which are not needed for therapeutic purposes. If further action proves necessary, I will not hesitate to take it.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the Boundary Commission for Wales, constituted in accordance with the House of Commons (Redistribution of Seats) Act 1958, has commenced its work; whether he expects a Report before the final proposals of the Local Government Boundary Commission for Wales are considered by the Government; and whether he will make a statement.

I understand that the Parliamentary Boundary Commission for Wales has considered its future work in the light of the requirement in the Act of 1958 to submit, between November 1964 and November 1969, a report on a general review of parliamentary constituencies. Since the rules for re-distribution of seats require the Commission to have regard to local government boundaries, I cannot expect the Commisison to submit a report before local government boundaries in Wales have been settled.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department, in view of the fact that his Department have had considerable correspondence with the hon. Member for West Ham, North, concerning prisoner Terence Brett, by what authority a spokesman from his Department informed the Stratford Express that they had not been informed of his decision and knew nothing about the case; and who supplied this incorrect information to this newspaper.

There is no record in my Department of any statement of the kind referred to.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he is aware of the recent case in which the statement of Mrs. Searle, of Canton, Cardiff, that she had already paid a fine of £3, was rejected by the Cowbridge magistrates, who insisted on a further payment being made; to what extent his regulations, under the Magistrates Courts Act, are designed to prevent the double payment of fines; and if he will make a statement.

It is for the court to decide whether a fine has been paid, but I am inquiring into the facts of this case. A separate account should be kept of all fines owing after the court has risen, and the Regulations require a justices' clerk to give a receipt for money received in payment of fines.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will advise the establishment of a Royal Commission to investigate the national consequences of the Betting and Gaming Act, 1960.

No.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if, following the conclusion of the Cyprus conference, he will take steps to bring the dispute in Cyprus before the United Nations for settlement.

The Conference on Cyprus has not yet concluded and it would be premature now to decide what action will be appropriate when it does. Meanwhile we are in close touch with the Secretary-General of the United Nations, who has sent a personal representative to Cyprus to observe the peace-making operation there.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what information he has given to the Security Council in accordance with Article 54 of the United Nations Charter, regarding the activities which are in contemplation by the regional agency concerned with the settlement of the dispute over Cyprus.

Information on the steps taken to maintain peace and security in Cyprus has already been given to the Security Council, in accordance with Article 54 of the United Nations Charter, in a letter sent on the 8th of January. A copy of this letter was circulated in the OFFICIAL REPORT on 14th January. It would be premature to report to the Security Council on any further steps to maintain peace and security in the area which may be contemplated until all the interested parties are agreed on such steps.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he will make a statement on the official talks with the United States Government about the threat to Malaysia resulting from Indonesian aggression.

My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister and other members of the Government, including myself, had several meetings with Mr. Robert Kennedy. During these, we expressed our appreciation of Mr. Kennedy's success in obtaining an Indonesian promise to cease their incursions into Malaysia and to take part in tripartite negotiations, and shared his hope for a successful outcome. We also expressed the concern we felt at Indonesian reiteration, as soon as Mr. Kennedy had left Djakarta, of their determination to "crush" Malaysia. In our view no solution can be lasting which does not safeguard the independence and integrity of Malaysia, and we are firmly resolved to honour our obligation to meet Malaysian requests for assistance in defending these objectives. We look forward to continuing our discussion of this problem with the United States Government when my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister and I visit Washington next month.

asked the Secretary for Technical Co-operation what has been the result of the discussions he has had with the Ghanaian Government with the object of relieving the hardship caused to retired persons resident in the United Kingdom who were employed in the Gold Coast civil service, and who cannot benefit from the double taxation agreement because their United Kingdom liability is too small to affect the new imposition of 7s. in the £1 deduction at source under the Ghana Income Tax (Withholding Tax) Rules (1963).

I am not yet able to add to the reply which I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for St. Ives (Mr. G. R. Howard) on 28th January.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what reply he is making to the letter he has received from the Second District Council of Lanarkshire, asking him to consider amending the law relating to Income Tax to provide for relief to be given for travelling expenses between home and work, where these are high as a direct consequent of lack of local employment opportunities.

I am sending the hon. Member copies of the letters which have been sent to the Council on this matter.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what will be the future ownership of Bala Lake, Merioneth; and if he will make a statement.

In his statement of 9th February, 1961, on the offer of the Glanllyn Estate to the consortium of tenants, my right hon. Friend said that Lake Bala was excluded from the offer. The sale of the estate is now sufficiently advanced for the sale of the lake to be proceeded with. My right hon. Friend proposes to offer it to the Merioneth County Council and formal negotiations with them will be opened very shortly.

asked the Minister of Labour what further steps he has taken to bring about a settlement of the dispute at the plastics works at Mauch-line, Ayrshire.

The firm has been invited to discuss the dispute with my officers. As regards the complaint by the Association of Supervisory Staffs Executives and Technicians that the firm is in breach of the Fair Wages Resolution, the firm's reply has been transmitted to the Association in accordance with the normal procedure.

asked the Minister of Transport what percentages of motor cars involved in road accidents in 1962 were less than one year, one to three years, three to five, five to seven, seven to 10 and over 10 years old, respectively.

I regret that this information is not available for 1962. The Road Research Laboratory made a study for 1960 and I am sending the hon. Member a summary of the results.

asked the Minister of Transport if he will give the proportion by which the number of motor vehicles on the road in 1963 exceeded the number in 1938; and if he will give the proportion by which the number of fatal and seriously injured road casualties in 1963 exceeded the number in 1938.

In 1963 there were three and a half times as many motor vehicles on the roads as in 1938. The number of people killed and seriously injured was 65 per cent. greater than in 1938.

asked the Minister of Transport if he will introduce legislation to suspend the hearing of objections to rail closures by transport users' consultative committees as soon as a General Election is announced in order that Members of Parliament may continue to be able to represent their constituents at the hearings.

No. Under Section 56 of the Transport Act, 1962, no restrictions are placed on the status of those representing objectors at T.U.C.C. hearings.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many prosecutions have been made in Scotland under the provisions of the Noise Abatement Act, 1960.

Up to the end of September, 1963, a total of 301 persons had been proceeded against under this Act.