asked the Minister of Public Building and Works what progress he has made in his proposals for redevelopment in the Whitehall area.

I am appointing Sir Leslie Martin to act as consultant for the Whitehall area. He will be authorised to associate with himself such consultants for particular aspects of the problem as he may desire. Following are his terms of reference:

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works if he has now considered the estimate of require- ments for new courthouses in Glasgow sent to him by the Commissioners; and if he will make a statement.

It is hoped to provide additional accommodation quickly for Glasgow Sheriff Court by purchase and adaptation of Lanarkshire House.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works if he is aware that the shortage of building bricks in Scotland and lack of stocks in hand are causing delays in building programmes and causing bricklayers to be paid off; and what consultations he has had with the industry in order to rectify this situation.

My Ministry's Scottish Headquarters had a meeting with the Scottish National Building Trades Federation (Employers) and the Scottish Employers Council for the Clay Industries in Glasgow on 13th April to discuss the situation.I am aware that there is a shortage of bricks in Scotland at present, which has resulted in some slowing up of construction and reduction of overtime by bricklayers, but there is no indication of any widespread disruption of work or resulting unemployment.Scottish production of bricks in March was the highest for any month since the war. The brickmakers are confident that this high level can be maintained for the rest of the year which would mean an increase of some 20 per cent. in production of bricks in Scotland in 1964 compared with 1963.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works what action he has taken to implement the recommendations of the Working Party on Building and Civil Engineering Procedure in Scotland in respect of training and recruitment to the industry.

My right hon. Friend the Minister of Labour is taking steps under the Industrial Training Act to set up a training board for the construction industry. This measure, which is intended to improve training and encourage recruitment, will apply to Scotland.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works if he will estimate the proportion of bricks currently used for building purposes being imported into Scotland; and what additional cost to building such importentails.

No figures are available for imports of bricks into Scotland, but I estimate that it is less than 5 per cent. of the total Scottish consumption. I can make no estimate of additional cost.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works what proportion of the Scottish building industry's annual consumption of window glass is manufactured in Scotland.

I understand that no window glass is manufactured in Scotland.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works (1) if he will take steps to see that temperatures in the libraries and tea rooms of the House are kept within normal limits; and what steps are being taken to eliminate bad smells, steam and other unpleasant atmospheric conditions;(2) if he will take steps to introduce a system of ventilation in those rooms in the House of Commons which now have double windows.

Conditions will be improved when the ventilation system, disturbed by works in the roof space overhead, has been restored at the end of this month. We are, in addition, arranging for fresh air input fans to be installed in the basement to take air into the rooms in the House of Commons which have double windows. This work is now out to tender and will be completed during the Summer Recess.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works what works he intends to do at Stone- henge as a result of the fall last year of Stone 23.

On the advice of the Ancient Monuments Board for England I will arrange for archaeological investigation of the stoneholes and their surroundings. Thereafter Stone 23 will be re-erected and secured in concrete. In addition the trilithon comprising Stones 53, 54 and their lintel 154 will be fixed in concrete at its present angle and Stone 27 will be brought into an upright position and also fixed in concrete. I propose to begin the work early in May and expect to complete it by the end of July.

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance if he is aware that the National Assistance Board is refusing to grant full rent allowances on the grounds that the rents are too high, and that in these cases the tenants are required to move to cheaper lodgings or tenements although it is impossible to find them; how many cases have been refused the full rent allowance; and what is the policy of the Board regarding rent allowances for married couples living in dwellings decontrolled under the Rent Act who are paying £2 15s. 0d. a week for rent.

The Board's officers are required by the National Assistance (Determination of Need) Regulations to provide such allowance for rent as is reasonable in the circumstances. In December, 1963, the full rent was being met in over 98 per cent. of cases—all but 27,000 cut of a total of over 1½ million. An account of the Board's policy in this matter was given in its Report for 1962.

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance whether he will publish in the OFFICIAL REPORT a statement showing the estimated cost of fuel and light, food, clothing, and incidental expenses involved in arriving at the National Assistance Board's computation of £3 3s. 6d. a week as the basic necessary income for a single householder living alone.

No. The National Assistance Board is responsible for recommending the amounts to be provided in the scale rates for the national assistance requirements of different categories of people. The Board has never published detailed breakdowns of the way in which assistance payments can or should be spent.

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance what recent figures are available to him showing the incidence of pneumoconiosis, chronic bronchitis and emphysema amongst mineworkers by comparison with citizens in other occupations.

Information about the incidence of pneumoconiosis among miners is emerging from the National Coal Board's programme of pneumoconiosis field research. So far as bronchitis and emphysema are concerned, a number of studies have been carried out. Figures relating to bronchitis in general are also becoming available from my Department's Enquiry into the Incidence of Incapacity for Work between June, 1961, and June, 1962.

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance what proposals he has for compensating old age pensioners for the increased costs of tobacco and beer imposed by the Budget.

I have no such proposals.

asked the Minister of Health whether he has now considered the claim of hospital engineers for higher salaries; and if he will make a statement.

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Orpington (Mr. Lubbock) on 24th March.

asked the Minister of Health when it is proposed to act upon the recommendations which were made to him in February, 1962, by the Study Group on the Work, Grading, Training and Qualifications of Hospital Engineers.

When the negotiations on the Whitley Council are completed I shall advise hospital authorities.

asked the Minister of Health how many staffed geriatric beds are available in the Nottingham hospitals; what is the waiting list for such beds; and how many old people have died in the last twelve months while awaiting beds.

At 31st March, 1964, 661 staffed geriatric beds were available and the waiting list was 253. The information requested about deaths of old people is not available.

asked the Minister of Health whether he has estimated, on population trends, how many geriatric beds are likely to be needed in the Nottingham hospitals by 1970; what is the figure; and what plans have been prepared to meet the present and future demands for such beds.

No, but a projection of population for 1975 indicates that about 1,060 geriatric beds may then be needed; the Regional Board expect by 1970 to have about 860 beds and plan to add more later.

asked the Minister of Health if he will publish the costing analyses which indicate that the cost of board and lodging for resident nurses at hospitals administered under the National Health Service exceeds the contributions made by the nurses concerned.

I am sending the hon. Member a copy of the summary of the 1962–63 costing returns for staff residences (including nurses' homes) produced by those hospital authorities that have been able to make separate costing returns of their residences. The contributions made by nurses vary according to grade and I am sending the hon. Member a copy of the relevant Whitley circular.

asked the Minister of Health what arrangements exist with Gibraltar and Malta for the treatment of inoperable cases to be transferred to this country; and whether he will extend similar facilities to Mauritius in special cases.

Patients selected and sponsored by the Governments of Malta and Gibraltar are, by a special arrangement of long standing, admitted to hospitals in this country for treatment, the cost being met by the sponsoring government. A request has recently been received from Mauritius by my right hon. Friend the Colonial Secretary and is being examined.

asked the Minister of Health what action he will take to assist general practitioners and dentists to find accommodation from which to practise in areas where the cost of housing has now increased to a disproportionate extent.

Executive Councils give what help they can in cases of special difficulty.

asked the Minister of Health if legislation to establish a new central authority to control the quality of drugs, the licensing of drug firms and new arrangements for quality inspection in chemists' shops and hospitals will be introduced in this Parliamentary Session.

No.

asked the Minister of Health if he is aware of the rapidly growing number of elderly people suffering from chronic sickness; and if he will cause a census to be made in the country to ascertain the extent of this problem and devise some means of dealing with it in addition to those which already exist.

With the increase in the number of elderly persons in the popula- tion, there is a greater need for health and welfare services for elderly persons generally, including those suffering from chronic sickness. These needs are well appreciated and underlie the plans for the development of the hospital and health and welfare services. The extent of the provision necessary must, however, be established locally and I do not think a national census would be the best way of assessing the problem.

asked the Minister of Health what was the ratio of patients to general practitioners in the National Health Service in England and Wales for each of the years 1949 to 1963.

The information is as follows:

asked the Minister of Health, in view of the continuing shortage of maternity nurses and midwives available for the borough of Leyton and other boroughs in the area of the North-East Metropolitan Region, what further steps have now been taken to secure tin improvement and an adequate maternity service in the future; to what extent the five-year refresher courses for midwives have contributed to the present deficiency; and whether the proportion of home confinements compared with those in hospitals or maternity homes is increasing.

The domiciliary service is coping with the demand made on it and additional maternity beds are being provided in hospitals in the region. The refresher courses should not lead to staffing difficulties. The proportion of home confinements to those in hospitals has been falling.

asked the Minister of Health what is the estimated shortage in the number of physiotherapists in the National Health Service; and what plans he has for making good this shortage.

It is not possible to make a precise estimate. The numbers in training and the better use of existing staff should go a long way to easing the position.

asked the Minister of Health what guidance he has given to local authorities to ensure minimal standards in respect of space and other domestic necessities in temporary accommodation for homeless families.

The wide variations in the types of building used and in the size and composition of families accommodated make it impracticable to lay down uniform minimum standards, but advice is given as necessary on individual premises.

asked the hon. Member for Dover, as Second Church Estates Commissioner, if, in view of the expressed opposition of the Dean and Chapter to the impending obstruction by a commercial building of part of the façade of St. Paul's Cathedral, and the widespread public anxiety about this matter, the Church Commissioners, being largely concerned with this development, will take the initiative in reopening the question of the siting and height of the obstruction.

No.The Church Commissioners are under a contractual liability to conform exactly

to the approved plan prepared by Sir William Holford. It will be of interest to note that the contract,

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will now make a statement on the policy of Her Majesty's Government on the proposals contained in the Verdon-Smith Report.

No. I cannot yet add to the replies which I gave on 23rd March.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what plans he has for extending the Agricultural Marketing Development Executive Committee or setting up a similar organisation so that forestry can be aided and encouraged in the same way as agriculture.

The Forestry Commission, the Forest Products Research Laboratory and the Timber Research and Development Association already fulfil for forestry most of the functions which the Agricultural Market Development Executive Committee is designed to fulfil for agriculture, and there seems no general demand for another body concerned with forestry.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will state the number of farms in each of the counties of Wales, including Monmouthshire, which have been advised that they are under review because they are wholly ineligible or partly ineligible, respectively, for the Hill Cow Subsidy.

Some farmers in some counties have yet to be notified of any change in the status of their land. The current position regarding those who have been notified is:

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what action he proposes to take to ensure that livestock are not subject to the risk of suffering or cruelty under intensive systems of management.

The development of cheaper and more efficient methods of rearing livestock, which is such a marked feature of the changes occurring in farming practice, has brought with it very real benefits to consumers. The increase in the consumption per head of poultry meat from 5·1 lb. pre-war to 9·4 lb. in 1958, and to 14·6 lb. in 1962. at competitive prices, is one instance of this. At the same time, these new methods, as they become increasingly widespread, raise the question as to whether standards as to the general conditions under which these animals are raised and kept should be laid down. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland and I feel the need for an expert inquiry to advise on this. We have, therefore, decided to set up a technical Committee to examine the conditions in which livestock are raised and kept under systems of intensive husbandry and to advise whether standards ought to be set in the interests of their welfare, and if so what they should be.I hope to be able to announce shortly the names of the Chairman of the Committee and of its members who will include officers of our Departments as well as other knowledgeable persons.

asked the Minister of Labour, in view of the length of time that the dispute at the plastics factory at Mauchline has now lasted, if he will appoint a committee of investigation to consider the matter.

No. The Association of Supervisory Staffs, Executives and Technicians has made a complaint that the firm is in breach of the Fair Wages Resolution and I have referred the complaint for decision to the Industrial Court. The appointment of a committee of investigation would not therefore be appropriate.

asked the Minister of Labour what was the estimated net migration of insured workers from the Northern Region in 1963.

Estimates of this kind relate to the middle of each year. Those for June, 1963, will be available towards the end of next month and I will send them to the hon. Member.

asked the Minister of Labour, in view of the fact that the Contracts of Employment Act is not applicable to Government employees, if he will take steps to bring such workers within the provisions of the Act.

No, but the Government intend to ensure that civil servants' terms provide for not less notice than the minimum laid down by the Act and are considering, in consultation with staff interests, methods of ensuring that staff are aware of their terms and conditions of service.

asked the Minister of Labour how many applications were received from the North-East Region in each year from 1960 to 31st March, 1964, for assistance towards the removal and resettlement of key workers; how many were approved; and what was the total amount granted.

Applications in the years ended 31st March, 1961, to 31st March, 1964, were nil, nil, five and twenty-eight respectively; all were approved. Not all payments are complete but the total amount granted to 31st March, 1964, is estimated to be about £1,000. Another 89 applications have been made and approved this month.

asked the Minister of Labour (1) how many boys and girls left school at Easter in the Borough of Pontefract; how many of these had jobs to go to; how many have found employment since leaving; and how many are still unemployed;(2) how many boys and girls left school at Easter in the area of Featherstone Urban District Council in the West Riding of Yorkshire; how many of these had been placed in employment before leaving; how many have found work after leaving; and how many are still unemployed.

Separate figures are not available for the Borough of Pontefract and Featherstone Urban District. Both lie within the Pontefract Youth Employment Office area, where, on 13th April, the total number of Easter school-leavers known to the Youth Employment Service was 447. Detailed figures are not available to show how many found employment before or after leaving school, but the Youth Employment Service estimates that about two-thirds were placed or found work before leaving. Twenty-six Easter leavers were still registered for first employment on 13th April.

asked the Minister of Labour how many boys and girls left school at Easter in the Borough of Castleford; how many of these had been found employment before leaving; how many have found employment since leaving; and how many are still unemployed.

On 13th April, the total number of Easter school-leavers known to the Youth Emloyment Service at Castleford was 318. Detailed figures are not available to show how many found employment before or after leaving school, but the Youth Employment Service estimates that more than half were placed or found work before leaving. Fourteen Easter leavers were still registered for first employment on 13th April.

asked the Minister of Labour if he will state the average monthly figures for unemployment in the Northern Region and Gateshead in 1951, 1955, 1959, and 1963.

The following table gives the information:

asked the Minister of Labour how many and what proportion of Easter school-leavers are unemployed in Middlesbrough and Thornaby; and what further measures he is planning to find them employment.

On 13th April, 116 or 21 per cent. of the 550 Easter school-leavers known to the Youth Employment Service at Middlesbrough were registered for first employment; at Thornaby the corresponding figures were 27 or 20 per cent. out of a total of 136. The Youth Employment Service is doing all it can to help the young people find suitable employment.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what steps have been taken by his Department to compile a list of names of all British subjects who were illegally detained in Nazi concentration camps during the last war, including those who have since died of their sufferings.

We have taken steps to obtain information from available sources, but a complete list would require a public registration.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if his present negotiations with the Federal German Government include compensation for the dependants of 50 Royal Air Force officers executed after their escape from Stalag Luft 3 in 1944 and for those of all other British nationals who died as a result of their illegal detention in concentration camps.

Her Majesty's Government consider that dependants of British nationals who died as a result of illegal detention in concentration camps are entitled to compensation from the Federal German Government. I have the case of the 50 Royal Air Force Officers mentioned by my hon. Friend very much in mind, but it would not be in the interests of our negotiations with the Federal German Government to make a statement at present about any particular case.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what instructions he has given to scientific attaches regarding liaison with other Governments on the proposal to establish a World Health Organisation International Research Centre; and whether he will make a statement on the rôle of these attachés in promoting international scientific co-operation.

As my right hon. Friend the Minister of State for Education and Science explained in answer to Questions on 9th April, the World Health Assembly, at its session in March, requested the Director-General of the World Health Organisation to make a further study of this project. Meanwhile, there is no action to he taken in the matter by Her Majesty's representatives abroad or by their scientific attachés. The duties of scientific attachés include the promotion of scientific contacts between the United Kingdom and the countries to which they are accredited. This naturally covers the discussion of projects of international scientific co-operation.

asked the Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations and the Colonies if he will make representations to the Government of India regarding the exceptional treatment on 11th March, 1964, of two Hong Kong individuals, of Chinese race and bearing British passports, when they arrived at Bombay Airport; if he is aware that this case was reported to the Immigration Office at Hong Kong by the hon. Member for Lichfield and Tamworth; and what action has been taken.

The Government of India requires persons of Chinese origin in transit through India to possess a visa if they wish to leave the airport. This requirement was imposed as a security measure following the Chinese attack on India. We understand the Indian Government's anxieties, but nevertheless we are opposed to discriminatory treatment as between one United Kingdom citizen and another. Vile therefore made representations to the Indian Government; but in the situation arising from the Chinese aggression they were not prepared to relax their regulations.

asked the Minister of Power by what date he hopes to complete consideration of tenders for nuclear reactor systems and to decide on which type of reactor the next phase of the nuclear power programme will be based.

I hope by the summer of next year.

asked the Minister of Power if he will state his estimate of the comparable capital and running costs of the projected advanced gas-cooled reactor, the Canadian deuterium uranium reactor and the United States boiling-water reactor; and if he will give examples of other reactors and their respective costs which he will be considering during his proposed review of nuclear reactors.

Adequate estimates of the relative costs of the various alternative types of reactor will be available only when the tenders of British manufacturers are received. The C.E.G.B. are willing to consider tenders for any water-moderated reactor of proved design, provided full supporting evidence is submitted. These would include the pressurised water reactor.

asked the Minister of Power to what extent the members of official research Organisations at present studying the incidence and causes of pneumoconiosis, chronic bronchitis, and emphysema amongst mineworkers have had experience of general medical practice in coalmining areas.

Four of the fifteen doctors who take part in this research have experience of general medical practice in a coal-mining area. The various research teams maintain close contacts with mining communities.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs whether he is aware that the incidence of interest charges borne in the rents charged for council houses has risen from 8s. 8d. per week in 1951 to 31s. 4d. per week in 1963, and that even with the operation of a differential rent scheme this is causing hardship to tenants and ratepayers in West Ham; and what action he proposes to take to reduce the 31s. 4d. to the 1951 level of 8s. 8d.

The rate of interest is only one of several factors which determine average interest charges. The current review of housing subsidies will take full account of all the relevant financial considerations. But it is not the object of the review to restore the 1951 position. Many things have changed since then, including personal incomes and the size of the stock of houses held by local authorities.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs what were the amounts spent in interest charges by the Dearne Urban District Council in each of the years from 1950 to 1963.

The figures^* are as follows:

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs what were the amounts spent in interest charges by the Cudworth Urban District Council in each of the years from 1950 to 1963.

The figures^* are as follows:

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs what were the amounts spent in interest charges by the Hemsworth Urban District Council in each of the years from 1950 to 1963.

The figures^* are as follows:

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs what were the amounts of interest charges spent by the Hemsworth Rural District Council in each of the years from 1950 to 1963.

The figures^* are as follows:

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs what investigations have been carried out into the effects of oil pollution in the atmosphere and into the need for bringing oil-firing appliances under the Clear Air Act; and whether he will make a statement.

The effects of the air pollution that may be caused by burning oil are not different in character from those that may be caused by burning coal and separate investigation of these effects as a whole has not been found necessary. The steps taken to investigate and deal with acid soot formation in oil-fired power stations were described in the 1962 Report of the Chief Alkali Inspector for England and Wales. The oil industry has investigated acid soot formation in smaller oil-fired installations and has evolved methods to deal with it there. The relevant provisions of the Clean Air Act already apply to oil-fired appliances.

asked the Prime Minister by what authority the civil servant who had assisted Lord Denning in his inquiry into the Profumo affair discussed on the telephone with Mr. Ludovic Kennedy those sections of Command Paper No. 2152 which dealt with the three charges on which the jury had found the late Stephen Ward not guilty; and if he will name the official in question.

I am informed that it fell to one of the Secretaries of the inquiry, Mr. T. A. Critchley, to deal with a very large number of enquiries from journalists. After the publication of the Report, some questions were put to him by Mr. Kennedy on the telephone. These were dealt with on the usual understanding that Mr. Critchley would not be quoted. No record of the conversation was kept, but Mr. Critchley's recollection of it does not agree with Mr. Kennedy's.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland when he received a communication from the Dunfermline and District Retail Butchers' Association on the export arrangements for clean cattle and sheep; what reply he has sent; and whether he will make a statement.

The Association's letter to my right hon. Friend the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food was passed on to me on 7th April. A reply was sent on my direction on 17th April referring to the replies given by my right hon. Friend on 13th April to Questions raised in the House by the hon. Members for Don Valley (Mr. Kelley) and West Ham, North (Mr. A. Lewis) and calling attention to the fact that beef exports of all kinds during the first two months of this year were about 2 per cent, of the beef animals certified during

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what were the average loan charge, the average charge and the average rent, all stated in weekly terms, for a council house in 1951 and 1963, respectively, in the county of Lanark.

The following is the information for 1951 and 1962. I do not have the information for 1963.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will state the number and value of school building projects submitted by the Gateshead Education Authority for the 1965–66 programme, the number and

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the average loan charge, the average interest charge, and the average rent, all stated in weekly terms, for a council house in 1951 and 1963, respectively, in Musselburgh and Edinburgh.

The following is the information:value of those approved, and the number of those not approved.

The authority submitted 20 proposals totalling about £1·4 million for the two-and-a-half-years 1965–68 not divided between the years. I have already approved one project in 1965–66 at £49,000 and I have informed the authority that I am ready to approve some further new primary school projects in 1965–67 to serve new housing in the south of the borough. I shall name these projects after discussions have taken place between officers of the authority and my Department.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry, Trade and Regional Development what plans he has for assisting British participation in international trade fairs and in trade weeks and similar promotion activities during the next 12 months.

The main events of the year so far as British industry is concerned are the All-British Fairs in Barcelona, Sydney, and Peking, towards the cost of which the Board of Trade will be making substantial contributions.The Board of Trade are themselves organising British pavilions or sections at international trade fairs at Budapest, Poznan, Tel Aviv, Vienna and Accra. The official programme also includes the organisation of British sections in six other major trade fairs and collaboration with some twenty-five trade associations in specialised fairs mainly in Europe in both E.F.T.A. and E.E.C. countries. In addition, official commercial enquiry stands will be installed in seven major fairs.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry, Trade and Regional Development whether he is satisfied that exporters are adequately informed of the facilities of the Export Credits Guarantee Department; and if he will make a statement.

Yes. These facilities are advertised in the national and regional Press. In 1963 officials from the Department's 16 Branch Offices made over 30,000 calls on exporting firms; of this number, over 13,000 were on uninsured firms to introduce and explain the facilities. Several publications are available describing these facilities. Copies of the latest and most comprehensive of these, "E.C.G.D. Services" are available in the Library of the House. I should be happy to send a copy to any hon. Member who may be interested.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will state the amount paid by the private sector of the economy in direct taxation in the five years 1959 to 1963 after deducting the tax paid by employees of the public sector and the tax on interest paid by the public sector to the private sector.

It is estimated that of the total direct tax of £14,278 million paid by the private sector in the five years 1959–1963 inclusive, about £2,100 million was paid on incomes arising from employment in the public sector. This figure is necessarily approximate because both the Income Tax deductions under Vie P.A.Y.E. system and the Surtax, where applicable, are affected in many cases by income from other sources. I regret that no estimate can be made of the tax attributable to interest paid by the public sector.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will state the total subsidies paid by the central Government to the nationalised industries in the years 1959 to 1963.

No subsidies were paid to nationalised industries in this period, apart from the revenue deficit grants paid from 1st April, 1960, to the British Transport Commission and from 1st January, 1963, to the British Railways Board and British Waterways Board. These grants totalled £540 million in the period 1st April, 1960, to 31st March, 1964. This does not include the cancellation of debt to the Exchequer amounting to £487 million, representing accumulated losses of the British Transport Commission, and the placing of £705 million of the British Railways Board's commencing capital debt to suspense under the provisions of the Transport Act, 1962.