asked the Minister of Health when he expects to reach agreement with the management side of the Whitley Council on a revaluation of the salary scales for hospital engineers.

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

asked the Minister of Health whether he proposes to make alterations to the published hospital building programme on Tees-side.

I would refer the hon. Member to the Second Review of the Hospital Plan which was published on 1st May.

asked the Minister of Health whether, in view of the mortality rates of mothers and babies in the Newcastle-on-Tyne Regional Hospital Board area, and the shortages of maternity beds there, he will arrange for more adequate provision by providing the essential finance.

The recently published review of the Hospital Plan includes a number of additional maternity schemes in the Newcastle Region.

asked the Minister of Health what steps he has taken to ensure a uniform procedure for the payment of doctors for examinations they conduct at the request of hospitals into the health of candidate student nurses.

My right hon. Friend is considering what guidance should be given to hospital authorities on the medical examination of student nurse candidates.

asked the Minister of Health what arrangements are being made for the provision of cytological testing facilities in the Plymouth area.

The South Western Regional Hospital Board is considering arrangements to provide cytological facilities at the South Devon and East Cornwall Hospital.

asked the Minister of Health what advice he has given or intends to give to hospital and local health authorities about applications by or on behalf of political parties to National Health Service staff for assistance in organising postal voting facilities for invalids under their care.

asked the Minister of Health what advice he has given, or proposes to give, to hospital and local health authorities about applications by or on behalf of political parties to National Health Service staff for assistance in organising postal voting facilities for invalids under their care.

None, Sir. A memorandum issued to hospital authorities in 1955 asked them to inform patients in suitable cases of their right to vote by post. I am sending the hon. Member a copy.

asked the Minister of Health how many laboratory technicians have started training since his announcement of the development of an early diagnosis and treatment service for cervical cancer.

I regret that this information is not centrally available.

asked the Minister of Health if he is satisfied that adequate arrangements will be made between the Essex County Council and new Essex boroughs to ensure that an ambulance service will meet the requirements of persons living beyond but near the boundaries of those new boroughs so that they are not adversely affected by the contraction of the administrative County of Essex; and if he will make a statement.

This is a matter for mutual arrangement between the Essex County Council and the Greater London Council.

asked the Minister of Health whether, in view of medical interest in the causes of congenital malformations, and the evidence that exposure of pregnant women to drugs, radiation and other environmental factors may constitute an increased risk to the child, he will institute a national system of notifying and recording the presence of congenital malformations.

A scheme came into operation in England and Wales on 1st January this year.

asked the Minister of Health what arrangements are made to maintain urgently needed services when all-night chemist services cease.

Doctors are required by their terms of service to supply medicaments needed for immediate use before a supply can otherwise be obtained; and chemists living on or near their premises are usually willing to dispense at any time prescriptions which a doctor has marked as urgent.

asked the Minister of Health what procedure there is for seeing that foreign au pair girls who register with medical practitioners under the National Health Service in this country have their names removed from official doctors' lists when they return home and thus cease to be a charge on the service.

Names are removed mainly on information obtained from the Ministry of Pensions and National Insurance and through constant checks by Executive Councils.

asked the Minister of Health to what extent it is the practice of local health committees to require that persons advertising their services as childminders while the mothers are out at work shall be registered and conform to minimum conditions in respect of the children temporarily in their charge; and what recommendations on this matter he has made to local authority health committees and medical officers of health.

It is already an offence for a child minder not to be registered with the local health authority, who can refuse registration, lay down conditions and inspect premises.

asked the Minister of Health what consideration he has given to introducing 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.

The statutory arrangements for drug quality control are being considered in the review of medicines legislation now in progress.

asked the Minister of Health if he will publish the names of the members of the Fraser working party on general practice, indicating which have been nominated by the medical profession, and which of the remainder are civil servants.

The following have been appointed from outside the Health Departments, all at the suggestion of medical professional bodies:

• Dr. J. T. Baldwin.
• Dr. J. C. Cameron.
• Dr. H. B. O. Cardew.
• Dr. D. L. Crombie.
• Dr. R. G. Gibson.
• Dr. J. S. Happel.
• Dr. I. M. Jones.
• Dr. J. C. Knox.
• Dr. E. V. Kuenssberg.
• Dr. A. M Maiden.
• Dr. J. S. Noble.
• Dr. R. B. L. Ridge.
• Professor R. Scott.
• Dr. M. A. Wilson.

Apart from my Permanent Secretary and Chief Medical Officer there have been no formal appointments of civil servants. Appropriate Health Department officials will attend meetings as necessary.

asked the Minister of Health what is the total amount still remaining in the account to be disbursed to general practitioners as compensation for loss of the right to sell practices; and what would be its equivalent value if brought up to current values.

£27,316,523 at 31st March, 1964, for Great Britain, ignoring interest. An equivalent sum, after adjustment by reference to movement in the consumer price index between 1946 and 1963, would be about £50 million.

asked the Minister of Health if he is aware that the Putney Migraine Clinic will cease to function at the end of July; and if he will consider incorporating it in the National Health Service.

My right hon. Friend has seen reports to this effect; he sees no reason for any action on his part as advice and treatment for migraine are available in the National Health Service.

asked the Minister of Health what estimates have been made of the extent of the need of an adequate midwifery service during the next 10 years in the areas covered by the new Essex boroughs; and what plans have been made to ensure sufficient recruitment and training to meet that prospective need.

Additional midwives are expected to be needed mainly to staff the additional maternity beds that are being provided. Every effort is being made to recruit them.

asked the Minister of Health if he is aware that the deaths per year from cancer of the cervix is in the region of 2,500; and what progress has been made with his proposals for reducing this loss of women's lives.

Yes. Good progress is being, made with plans to make routine screening for cervical cancer available to all women at risk but it will inevitably take time to provide the facilities and trained staff needed for a countrywide service.

asked the Minister of Health whether he will make a statement on his negotiations with the chemists about increasing prescription fees.

I have nothing yet to add to my reply to my noble Friend the Member for Hertford (Lord Balniel) on 20th April.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what has been the nature of the survey of the extent to which food is contaminated with pesticide; what samples have been taken; where they were obtained; what have been the results of the survey; and whether he will publish a report upon it.

Studies to determine whether there are pesticide residues in home-produced and imported foodstuffs, and, if so, their extent, are conducted by the Panel on Pesticides Residues in Foodstuffs. I am sending the hon. and learned Member a copy of the recently published Report on the Advisory Committee on Poisonous Substances used in Agriculture and Food Storage on the persistent organochlorine pesticides; Section III contains a summary of the results obtained so far as regards these pesticides, and an indication of the further studies that are proposed. The Panel has also examined residues of certain organophosphorous chemicals and of lead arsenate in certain imported fruit and cereals, and the results of these studies and of those which the Panel will be conducting in the future will be published in due course.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will institute a system under which sales of barley between farms which do not pass through a merchant will qualify for the barley storage subsidy.

No. The storage incentive scheme for barley is designed to reduce the pressure of barley sales to merchants and processors at harvest time. Barley sold direct to another farmer does not enter trade in this sense and therefore does not qualify either for the premium on late sales or the deduction on early sales.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what was the total acreage of flax grown in England and Wales in 1963; and how this figure compares with 1958 and 1953, respectively.

Since 1956, when the acreage had fallen to 1,580 acres, separate recording of flax has been discontinued. In 1953 it was 25,528 acres.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what percentages of home-produced cattle, sheep and pigs marketed for slaughter in the first three months of this year were exported to Europe alive or as carcase meat.

3·4 per cent. of cattle, 3·3 per cent. of sheep, and 3·8 per cent. of pigs. These figures are percentages of United Kingdom production expressed in terms of live cattle, sheep and pigs. Carcase meat exports have been converted to a live animal basis.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will give the latest estimate of forthcoming supplies, home-produced and imported, of beef, lamb and pork for the United Kingdom market in the current three-month period April to June compared with a year ago, and the averages for the past five years.

Forecasts covering April to June, 1964, indicate that total supplies of beef and veal are likely to be somewhat less than in the same period of 1963, but well above the average of the last 5 years: both lamb and pork supplies should be above those for April-June last year and also above the 5 year average. Taking all carcase meat together, I estimate that home production and imports in the current quarter will not differ greatly from their respective levels in the second quarter of 1963. Imports should accordingly be fairly near the 5 year average and home production well above that average.Supplies of meat in the second quarter of 1963, compared with a 5 year average for the same period, were as follows:

'000 tons
—	April-June, 1963	April-June, 1959/63
Beef and Veal:
Home Killed	230·6	196·7
Imported	84·7	80·0
Total	315·3	276·7
Mutton:
Home Killed	8·3	8·0
Imported	9·1	14·2
Total	17·4	22·2
Lamb:
Home Killed	29·7	34·3
Imported	84·0	81·9
Total	113·7	116·2
Pork*:
Home Killed	126·2	109·1
Imported	1·5	2·9
Total	127·7	112·0
Total:
Home Killed	394·8	348·1
Imported	179·3	179·0
Total	574·1	527·1
* These figures are not comparable with those given in reply to my hon. Friend's similar question on 21st February, 1964, which specified pigmeat.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether the National Agriculture Advisory Service gives advice to farmers on costing as well as production methods.

Yes. The National Agricultural Advisory Service offers a complete farm business analysis service under which the farmer can ascertain the costs of the various sections of the farm business. In addition the N.A.A.S. is developing a number of individual enterprise efficiency schemes, either nationally or locally, which include, in varying degrees of detail, analysis of costs. There are at present schemes for poultry, milk, pigs, beef and sheep.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what estimate he has made of the effect on consumer food prices of the increased farm prices agreed under this year's Price Review.

The increase of ½d. a pint in the retail price of milk means about half a point on the index of retail food prices. Apart from this, the Review determinations do not significantly affect what the consumer pays.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he will consult the National Federation of Fish Fryers about the effect on their trade of the decision to limit landings of fish by Faroese vessels; and if he will make a statement.

The Federation has made its views known and there is nothing I can add to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Hornchurch (Mr. Lagden) on 9th March.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what representations he has received from the fishing industry with regard to the proposed withdrawal of a number of special trains from the major fishing ports.

None.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will now state the names of the chairman and members of the technical committee which will examine intensive husbandry systems; and how many are non-technical lay members.

I cannot yet add to the reply I gave on 20th April to my hon Friend the Member for Gillingham (Mr. Burden).

asked the Minister of Labour what is the rate of juvenile unemployment at Glasgow and Stockton, respectively.

Separate unemployment percentage rates for young people are not calculated but the combined adult-young person rate in April was 4·8 per cent. in the Glasgow area and 3·6 per cent. on Tees-side, including Stockton. The total numbers of boys and girls registered as unemployed on 13th April were 1,480 in the City of Glasgow and 221 at Stockton.

asked the Minister of Labour whether he will submit forthwith to a committee of investigation any industrial dispute which he has previously referred to an industrial court but in respect of which an appeal has subsequently been made to the High Court by one of the interested parties so circumventing the Minister's decision.

No. It would not be appropriate, once I have referred a matter to the Industrial Court for settlement, to refer it to another body for inquiry or investigation.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs why, in his speech to the meeting of the Central Treaty Organisation on 28th April 1964, he did not mention the desirability of Governments allocating troops for use by the United Nations in its peace-keeping activities.

My right hon. Friend, the Foreign Secretary, had originally intended to mention this in his speech, but as time was short at the end of the meeting of the Central Treaty Organisation, he decided to omit the passage in question. This decision had no other significance. My right hon. Friend dealt fully with the whole question of building up the peace-keeping capabilities of the United Nations in his speech to the Disarmament Conference at Geneva on 25th February. Her Majesty's Government's policy on the question of countries earmarking troops for use by the United Nations has also been made clear in answer to recent Questions in this House.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what contributions Her Majesty's Government made during 1963 to the United Nations, its subsidiary and voluntary funds and specialised agencies, respectively; and what proportions these contributions were of the respective total budgets.

I would refer my hon. Friend to the Answer which my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Lancaster (Mr. Berkeley) on 14th January. Unfortunately, the list of our contributions given in that Answer was headed in the OFFICIAL REPORT with a dollar sign. The amounts shown are, in fact, in pounds sterling.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he will table a list of members of the United Nations Organisation in arrears with their apportioned share of the expenses of the Organisation, including in those expenses, as in the opinion of the International Court of Justice, upheld by a two-thirds majority in the General Assembly, they should be included, the expenses of the United Nations Emergency Fund and the United Nations Operations in the Congo; and if he will specify each member the amount of whose arrears equals or exceeds the amount of the contributions due from that member for the preceding two full years.

I refer my hon. Friend to the Answer I gave on 13th April to the right hon. and learned Gentleman, the Member for Rowley Regis and Tipton (Mr. A. Henderson).

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works what has been the cost of the purchase of Royal Standards in each of the past 10 years.

Figures for the years before 1956–57 are not available. Expenditure since then has been as follows:

	£
1956–57	776
1957–58	315
1958–59	280
1959–60	185
1960–61	Nil
1961–62	354
1962–63	289
1963–64	174

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance what proportion of insured men, using current actuarial calculations, die before reaching the retirement age of 65 years; what is the average annual net saving to the National Insurance Fund, in cash and expressed as a percentage of the total net annual income of the fund; and what are the corresponding figures for women.

It is assumed that about 19 per cent. of the men now in the contribution field, and 6 per cent. of the women, will die before they reach pensionable age. To assess the total effect on the income and expenditure of the National Insurance scheme if none of them did so would involve making a series of highly artificial assumptions. In any case the contributions are fixed at the level needed to finance benefits, taking account of the ages at which people do die.

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance if he will publish figures available to him on the incidence of respiratory diseases amongst citizens other than miners in areas where colliery tips are burning; and how those figures compare with figures concerning other mining and non-mining areas.

The report on the Department's inquiry into the incidence of incapacity for work, which we expect to publish in the autumn, will identify separately people living in urban areas of different size and rural areas sub-divided, where appropriate, by degree of industrial activity. Places where colliery tips are burning cannot be separately identified for the purpose of these analyses.

asked the Minister of Power what credit for plutonium is assumed in his estimate of the running costs of the Wylfa nuclear power station; how this compares with earlier estimates of the plutonium credit; and what guarantees exist that the credit will be maintained at the level currently used in estimating.

The Central Electricity Generating Board is at present assuming no credit for the irradiated fuel containing the plutonium. Previous estimates for earlier stations have assumed substantially less than 0·1d. a unit, as the hon. Member was told on 26th February, 1962. Some credit may be appropriate in due course as fast reactors are developed and the value of plutonium rises.

asked the Minister of Power what is the cost of constructing 100 miles of overhead standard high-voltage transmission lines; and what is the loss of current for runs of 300 miles and over for every 100 miles of line expressed as a percentage of power transmitted.

I am asking the Chairman of the Central Electricity Generating Board to write to my hon. Friend.

asked the Minister of Aviation how many of the technical costs officers employed by his Department have an engineering degree, membership of an engineering institution, and higher national certificate, respectively.

3, 32 and 23 respectively. The three engineering graduates also have membership of an engineering institution and eight officers are members of more than one institution.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what gratuity was offered to Mr. S. Fegan, of 1195 Shore Road, Belfast, if he resigned as a civilian employee from the Royal Air Force Station, Edenmore, in August, 1960; and what steps were taken to inform him that this would not be paid if he accepted another post and subsequently resigned.

None. Under the special rules which applied to the circumstances of his redundancy at Edenmore, Mr. Fegan would have been eligible to resign and claim a gratuity only if there had been no other Government employment available locally. In the event, alternative employment was found for him near his home. I have no record of whether he was specifically reminded at this time of the general rules governing resignation from established Government employment but, as I have said, there is no question of his having lost any opportunity for resignation on special terms.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs if he will state the total amount of money borrowed by the Willesden Borough Council for each of the past 10 years for which loan sanction was required, stating in detail in reference to the last three years the purposes for which the money was required.

The figures^* are as follows:

Year	£
1953–54	261,770
1954–55	300,612
1955–56	695,650
1956–57	382,516
1957–58	368,932
1958–59	980,097
1959–60	1,331,787
1960–61	1,575,412
1961–62	1,971,773
1962–63	1,569,822
*Source: Epitomes of accounts.

In the last three financial years, the purposes for which the money was required were public libraries, museums and art galleries; public health; housing; town and country planning; highways; public lighting; burial grounds, cemeteries and crematoria; and miscellaneous.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs if he will state the number and value of commercial and industrial properties, including buildings, acquired by the Willesden Borough Council during the past 10 years, the number of such properties that have been released for industrial or commercial user, the maximum term of years granted under recent leases, and the number actually redeveloped for housing purposes, specifying the number of flats and houses provided.

My right hon. Friend regrets that he does not have the necessary information.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs if he will state the number of houses and flats acquired for existing use by the Willesden Borough Council during each of the past seven years, with moneys for which loan sanction was required and the total paid therefor.

I regret that records are not kept which enable me to answer this Question.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs what, under his regulations, is the maximum rate of subsidy payable for housing purposes; and upon what form of building and development it can be secured by a local authority in Middlesex.

The maximum subsidy payable for new housing depends on the combination of several factors. The highest rate of basic subsidy under Section 4 of the Housing Act, 1961, is £24 a year per dwelling, which may be increased by payments under the First Schedule up to a total of £40 a year where an authority's rate resources are much below the average. Additional subsidies are payable under Section 5 of the Act where dwellings are provided in flats of 4 or more storeys or on sites costing more than £4,000 an acre as developed. The scale of subsidy for tall flats is as follows:

Number of Storeys	Subsidy Increase per flat
4	£8
5	£14
6	£26
More than 6	£26 plus £1 15s. for each storey by which the block exceeds 6 storeys.

The amount of expensive site subsidy varies according to the cost of the sites. For sites costing more than £4,000 but less than £5,000 an acre the subsidy is £60 an acre. From that point the subsidy is progressively increased by £34 an acre for each £1,000 or part of £1,000 by which the cost per acre exceeds £5,000. Expensive site subsidy is not increased for a site costing more than £10,000 an acre unless it is developed by flats in blocks of 4 or more storeys.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs if he will state the total amount of housing subsidies and Exchequer contributions made available to the Willesden Borough Council during the past 10 years.

Following are the net amounts of Exchequer subsidies and contributions for housing which have been paid to the council in the past 10 years:

	£
1954–55	24,008
1955–56	26,045
1956–57	20,647
1957–58	56,648
1958–59	85,753
1959–60	122,616
1960–61	106,050
1961–62	203,328
1962–63	109,649
1963–64	137,502

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs if he will give the numbers and percentages of dwellings occupied by separate households in the County Borough of Gateshead, in the following categories: having neither an internal water closet, nor one attached to the building and sharing with another household; being entirely without a cold water tap and sharing with another household; being entirely without a hot water tap and sharing with another household; being entirely without a fixed bath and sharing with another household; and having exclusive use of all four arrangements.

The information^* required is as follows:

Dwellings occupied by separate households		Number	Per cent. of all unshared permanent dwellings
1	(a) Having neither an internal water closet nor one attached to the building.	1,923	5·92
	(b) Sharing arrangement with another household.	504	1·55
2	(a) Entirely without a cold water tap.	662	2·04
	(b) Sharing arrangement with another household.	41	0·13
3	(a) Entirely without a hot water tap.	12,391	38·15
	(b) Sharing arrange with another household.	31	0·10
4	(a) Entirely without a fixed bath.	13,167	40·54
	(b) Sharing arrangement with another household.	73	0·22
5	Having exclusive use of all four amenities.	18,312	56·38
* Source: Census 1961, County Report, Durham.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs what were the average loan charge, the average interest rate and the average rent, all stated in weekly terms, for a council house in each year from 1951 to 1963 in Swansea.

I have no means of knowing the average interest rate applicable to an authority's housing revenue account in any particular year. The following table, based on statistics published by the Institute of Municipal Treasurers and Accountants, shows average net rents in Swansea and a figure for loan charges obtained by dividing total loan charges, which include loans for shops, garages and other items in the housing revenue account, by the number of houses held at the end of the year:

Year	Total Loan Charges as Weekly Charge per House		Average Weekly Rent
	s.	d.	s.	d.
1950–51	11	8½	12	1
1951–52	11	7½	12	7½
1952–53	12	5½	13	4
1953–54	13	8½	13	2½
1954–55	14	2½	13	4
1955–56	16	9	15	7½
1956–57	16	0½	17	11
1957–58	16	10	16	11
1958–59	17	1½	17	3
1959–60	17	9	17	6
1960–61	19	1	18	3
1961–62	21	3½	21	4
1962–63	23	1½	26	1½

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if immigrants and visitors to Great Britain who can establish that they are drug addicts and require a regular supply of drugs for their physical and mental well-being are entitled to be placed on the register for such a supply; and how many people in these categories are on the register in England and Wales;(2) if immigrants and visitors to Scotland who can establish that they are drug addicts and require a regular supply of drugs for their physical and mental well-being are entitled to be placed on the register for such a supply; and how many people in these categories are on the register in Scotland.

There is no system of registration of drug addicts in this country entitling them to a supply of drugs. The prescription of drugs for an individual addict is a matter for his own doctor. The Home Office keeps a list of known addicts, which at the present time includes 74 immigrants and 12 visitors who are receiving on prescription from a doctor drugs which are controlled under the Dangerous Drugs Act. None of these addicts is resident in Wales or Scotland.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish in HANSARD the questionnaire used by his Department in the survey of Northern and Southern Irish passenger traffic, together with statistics of the answers given to each question; and if he will make a statement.

The survey made for the Home Office in 1962–63 was designed to obtain information about the number of people who travelled between Ireland and Great Britain and for what reasons the citizens of the Irish Republic among them had made the journey, how long they had stayed or intended to stay in Great Britain, whether they had been employed or were seeking employment and, if so, in what kind of employment. I do not think it would be practicable within the compass of a Parliamentary Answer to print the whole of the two questionnaires—for outward and inward traffic respectively—used by the investigators conducting the survey, but if my hon. Friend will let me know on what particular points he would like further information I will gladly see whether I can supply it. A summary of the results of the survey was given in reply to a Question by my right hon. and learned Friend the Member for Huntingdonshire (Mr. Renton) on 18th November, 1963.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry, Trade and Regional Development how many applications were received over the past 18 months to set up industry on the Low Willington industrial site, in the Crook and Willington Urban District Council area.

None.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry, Trade and Regional Development if he is aware of the circumstances in which an industrial site in the Crook and Willington Urban District Council area was taken over by a private developer 18 months ago, after the county planning authority and the district authority had agreed on its use for industrial purposes; what application has yet been made for development; and, in view of the deterioration of the industrial situation in the area, what action he is taking in the matter

Yes. No application has been made for an industrial development certificate to erect a factory on this site; but the industrial situation in the area has not deteriorated and indeed unemployment has fallen steadily during the last year.

asked the Secretary of State for. Industry, Trade and Regional Development what is the total value of grants and loans, respectively, made available to applicants under the Local Employment Act in East Aberdeenshire to date; and how many applicants have been rejected.

From 1st April, 1960, to 31st March, 1963, loans and grants under the Local Employment Acts to a total value of £192,650 and £44,732 respectively—excluding offers declined—were offered for projects in the Peter-head, Fraserburgh and Aberdeen group of employment exchange areas. Financial assistance to 27 applicants was refused.

asked the Postmaster-General if he is aware that philatelists and others who, in response to his special offer of first-day covers bearing sets of Shakespeare quatercentenary stamps, ordered such covers more than a week before 23rd April, had still not received them on 28th April; how many of these covers were ordered; what steps were taken, by transferring extra staff or otherwise, to cope with a substantial volume of orders; why the form of application did not bear the closing date for applications contained in the separate form listing conditions for the service; how many covers still await dispatch; whether these will be postmarked 23rd April; and on what date or dates this postmark will actually have been stamped on the covers.

I am aware that some of these covers have not yet been delivered and I regret the delay. The demand for our comprehensive first-day cover service, that is where we provide the envelope, type the address, stick on the stamps, and put the enevelope in the post, exceeded all expectations. Close on 80,000 covers were ordered. Many orders, including some from overseas, came to hand after the closing date. Apart from overtime nearly 50 extra staff have been drafted into the Bureau. Over half the covers have already been dispatched: the remainder are in various stages of preparation and we aim to get them out this week. All covers will bear the postmark 23rd April although it might have been impressed on any day from 23rd April onwards.The closing date for applications was one of a number of conditions attached to the service which we felt our customers would find it more convenient to have on a separate form which they could retain.

asked the Postmaster-General how many staff are employed in his Philatelic Bureau; and how much has been spent in the current calendar year in advertising the services of this bureau.

The permanent staffing complement of the Bureau is 21 but, to cope with the recent heavy rush of orders for Shakespeare stamps and first-day covers, the number of staff employed has been increased temporarily to nearly 70.In the current calendar year we have spent about £3,000 in advertising the Bureau's services.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he will take steps to ensure that a higher proportion of Scottish industrial effort is devoted to research and development activities, as recommended in the Scottish Council for Development and Industry Report issued this week; and whether he will make a statement.

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Industry, Trade and Regional Development and I are considering with our colleagues the points raised in the Scottish Council's memorandum.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) what was the total number of herring fishing vessels based on East Aberdeenshire ports in 1950 and in 1960, respectively; and to what factors he attributes the decline;(2) what was the total number of herring fishermen based on East Aberdeenshire ports in 1950 and in 1963; to what factors he attributes the change; and what steps he is taking to assist the expansion of the industry in this area.

The number of vessels mainly engaged in herring fishing and based on East Aberdeenshire ports was 174 in 1950 and 86 in 1960: the number of fishermen employed on such boats was approximately 1,740 in 1950 and 570 in 1963.There have been a number of changes since 1950 including a marked fall in the export of herring to countries which now rely to a greater extent on their own catches. Nowadays there are also proportionately more dual purpose drifters in the herring fleet which can equally well catch white fish as herring, and the number of boats actually engaged in herring fishing shows a larger variation through the year than formerly. Both white fish and herring catching are subsidised by the Government and fishermen are free to engage in whichever suits them best. For a number of years the average profits earned by the larger boats mainly engaged in herring catching have been higher than those of the corresponding boats mainly engaged in white fish catching: I infer therefore that fishermen are actuated by factors other than purely economic considerations.