asked the Postmaster-General whether there were any serious interruptions last year in emergency services caused by acts of vandalism in telephone kiosks; and whether he will make a statement.

I estimate that telephone kiosks were put out of action for emergency calls by acts of vandalism on some 30,000 to 40,000 occasions last year, though in many cases another kiosk in the vicinity would be available for use.It is disgraceful that a minority, by their irresponsible behaviour, should jeopardise public access to the emergency services. Action is being taken by the Post Office to minimise the possibility of damage and repairs are carried out with all speed. I cannot emphasise too strongly the need for all to realise that damage to a public telephone may well lead to loss of life in an emergency, and I am taking steps to see that kiosk users are made aware of this.

asked the Postmaster-General what was the cost last year of repairing acts of vandalism in telephone kiosks in Scotland.

About £26,000.

asked the Minister of Health, in each of the five patented drugs being imported under the new National Health Service hospital contracts, what stages of the total manufacturing and packaging operation, from production of the basic material to the packaging of the drugs in their finished form, are carried out abroad, and what stages in this country; what inspections have been made of the facilities of each of the manufacturing and packaging concerns involved, both in this country and abroad, by officials of his department; and what approvals have been given.

The basic ingredients of all five drugs are manufactured abroad. Tablets and capsules of tetracycline, oxytetracycline and chloramphenicol are made abroad and those of chloretetracycline and chlorothiazide in the United Kingdom.Some packaging is carried out abroad and some in the United Kingdom.All processes whether abroad or in the United Kingdom have been inspected and approved on behalf of my right hon. Friend.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many convictions there were last year for committing acts of vandalism in telephone kiosks in Scotland.

I regret that it is not possible to identify, among the convictions for malicious damage reported to me, the number involving damage to telephone kiosks.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a further statement about the technical college building programme.

As I have explained to the hon. Member, I regret that three corrections are necessary in the detailed tables which I circulated in the OFFICIAL REPORT in reply to his Question of 17th March. The estimated completion date for Napier Technical College, Edinburgh, should have been shown as August, 1964; and the estimated starting and completion dates for the Annexe to Kingsway Technical College, Dundee, as June, 1964, and May, 1965, respectively.

asked the Minister of Transport what route the new Yorkshire-Lancashire motorway will take through the Borough of Morley; when construction of this part will begin; and what is the estimated time for completion.

A draft scheme proposing the route for this section of the Lancashire-Yorkshire Motorway was published in February and is open to objection until 29th May. The proposed route runs between Batley and Morley, about 4·3 miles of it being within the Borough of Morley. I am sending the hon. Member a copy of the draft scheme and plan.Start of construction will depend on completion of the statutory processes and on the availability of funds; the whole of this motorway is included in the 1,000 miles programmed for completion by the early 1970s.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will indicate the yield of duty imposed on heavy hydro- carbon oils by the provision of Section 2 of the Finance Act, 1961, and the anticipated yield for the current year.

The provisional figure for the yield of duty from heavy hydrocarbon oils in 1963–64 is £61 million. The estimate for the current financial year is £67·5 million.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the total yield of taxes and duties imposed on the users of hydrocarbon oils; and to what extent the burden thereof is borne by industrial users of the fuel.

The total yield of the hydrocarbon oil duties in 1963–64 was £592 million; of this £27 million is estimated to have been paid in respect of fuel used in manufacturing industry.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will state the amounts of loans made by the United States of America to Great Britain in 1945, and between 1951 and 1961; at what rates of interest they were; and what repayments have been made.

The terms of the loan agreed in 1945 are set out in two White Papers (Cmd. 6708 and Cmnd. 178). $3,750 million was originally borrowed at 2 per cent. interest and $140 million deferred interest was added to the debt in 1956 and 1957. $601 million has so far been repaid.Between 1951 and 1961 two further loans were negotiated, $48 million at 2½ per cent. in 1952 (Cmd. 8504) and a line of credit at 4½ per cent. of which $250 million was drawn in 1957 (Cmnd. 104). $1 million of the first loan and the whole of the second have been repaid.