asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what steps are taken by his Department to bring to the notice of local education authorities the results of changes in the organisation of secondary education in other areas.

Assessment of the results of such changes is a continuing process. Officers of my Department, including members of Her Majesty's Inspectorate, exchange views with those of local education authorities in the course of their regular contacts and, in particular, when consulted about prospective changes.

Is the Minister aware that the old rigid attitude to the tripartite system of secondary education is breaking down and that well over half of the L.E.A.s have changed, or are changing, to some form of comprehensive education? Will not he issue an objective report which could be published showing the good points, and the bad points, of experiments that have been made which would be of assistance to L.E.A.s in all parts of the country?

I thought that the tripartite system had already broken down seven years ago when I was Minister before. As regards the rest of the hon. Gentleman's supplementary question, I think that the statement made by my right hon. Friend in a speech last year to the Association of Education Commit tees was designed to fulfil that very object.

In view of the fact that the right hon. Gentleman takes the view, very properly, that the tripartite system has broken down, does he not think that there is an obligation on his Department to provide this information to the local education authorities which have to consider what is the best course to take in providing comprehensive secondary education? Does not the right hon. Gentleman think that this information ought in any case to be comprehensively brought together and made available to all the education authorities?

The Question related to results, and, of course, as so many of these experiments have not yet produced results, I think that it would be rather difficult to do that. Moreover, of course, the local education authorities themselves are in constant contact, as my Answer indicated, with my Department and I do not think that there is any information in the Department which is not available to them all the time.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he has studied the Stoke-on-Trent Plan for Education; and when the city may expect a decision.

Representatives of the authority discussed their plan with officers of my Department last February. The next step is for the authority to publish notices of their proposals under Section 13 of the Education Act, 1944, and I understand that this has been done. The statutory period for objections must then run, and in the light of any objections received, I shall then consider my decision.

While thanking the right hon. Gentleman for saying that all the procedure is now going ahead, may I ask him, in view of the time that has been taken for the working out of this scheme and the great importance of the scheme to the planning in the city, whether he could say that once all this procedure has been gone through we can expect a very early decision on the scheme?

As the hon. Lady knows, I have to observe something like judicial impartiality about these cases, but, obviously, I will try to avoid any undue delay.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science why the school building programme for Newcastle-under-Lyme which he has approved for 1965–66 is of lesser value than the programmes approved for 1962–63 and 1963–64.

Priorities between different areas inevitably vary from year to year as the school building programme proceeds. The total sums to be spent in any particular area likewise vary from year to year.

Whilst being grateful for the fact that the Minister has at last agreed to include Friarswood School in the programme for rehousing, may I ask him whether he is aware that Newcastle-under-Lyme had a very small programme last year—it fell to a very low level—that this programme which has now been approved is substantially less than that for the two years mentioned and that the Newcastle-under-Lyme education authorities have only put up projects urgently needed in the district? Would he not, therefore, be willing to reconsider this in view of the fact that the programme is at a relatively low level?

I think the hon. Gentleman must understand that I must regard the priority list of Staffordshire as a whole, and it is, I think, in relation to that that the variations of the particular programmes year by year of Newcastle-under-Lyme have to be viewed.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the average age of leaving school in the Northern Region, and in England and Wales, respectively.

I do not have the information in this form, but, as a rough indication, at the end of 1962, about 73 per cent. of pupils in the Northern Region who became 15 during that year had left school. The corresponding proportion for England and Wales as a whole was about 65 per cent.

Does the Secretary of State not feel that this does indicate a difference between the sheer quantity of educational provision in different parts of the country? Does he feel, reflecting as it does the difference over many generations of occupational structure, housing provision, many other factors, that there is need for some more new measures to redress the inequalities in the educational provision as between different regions of the country?

I am not sure that I would accept the first premise of the hon. Gentleman's supplementary question. I am advised that this is a genuine difference in parental attitudes and social traditions rather than a question of quantitative provision, but it was, of course, precisely for this reason that we decided to raise the school-leaving age.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that the judgment he has expressed is a subjective one and that we are faced with an objective fact, that there appear to be disparities between different regions of the country in the opportunity given in education? Is not this a matter on which we ought to have an immediate survey, so that we have the facts? Is it not a matter which ought to have the attention of the Government?

I do not agree that my judgment was entirely subjective. It was based upon inquiry, which the hon. Gentleman's original Question put me on: I naturally inquired as to the difference, and why it was assessed to be different. But I would agree that these are matters which require constant attention.

Does the Secretary of State not feel that parental attitude, which is certainly a factor, is in itself partly due to the lack of provision in former years, and that one way in which to make a change in this is by altering the provision today?

That is precisely why we are raising the school-leaving age.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the number of children per teacher in the Northern Region, and in England and Wales, respectively; and in each case what proportion of the teachers is temporary.

In the spring term of 1963 there were 24·9 pupils per teacher (including the full-time equivalent of part-time teachers) in the Northern Region, compared with 24·0 in England and Wales. 1·5 per cent. of the full-time teachers in the Northern Region were temporary teachers compared with 1·6 per cent. in England and Wales.

Is the Secretary of State aware that his definition of temporary teachers does not seem to take into account the more rapid rate of turnover of teachers which must be called for in the Northern Region? Is he further aware that the difference in the number of children per teacher between the Northern Region and the rest of the country does clearly indicate the disparity in teacher provision which it is the responsibility of his Department to correct?

It does indicate a disparity of 0·91. As regards the first part of the hon. Gentleman's Question, I would say that if I am asked a statistical question I must give the answer to it in the terms in which it is asked.

Despite the fact that there is a certain shortage of teachers in the country, would my right hon. Friend confirm to us that we have no intention of indulging in the part-time attendance of children at school, as seems to be the policy of the Opposition, in which there is a certain amount of doubt?

I hope we shall learn one lesson, and that is not to try to prejudge the findings of the Plowden Committee.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether, with a view to encouraging and retaining interest in the works of William Shakespeare, he will take steps to limit the amount of study devoted to this author in schools.

No, Sir.

But is there not a danger of over-concentration on the works of William Shakespeare in our schools? In looking at examination programmes would my right hon. Friend look again at the possibility of including some of the plays of slightly more modern British and international playwrights, such as Ibsen, Tennessee Williams and Arnold Wesker?

I think my hon. Friend really must appreciate that I do not in my Ministry decide the content of the curriculum, but I am not sure that "The Merry Wives of Windsor" is altogether out of date.

Is the Secretary of State aware that the grammar schools of England for the last forty years have not only helped children to understand Shakespeare, which is important, but also to enjoy him in dramatic performances, and that what his hon. Friend is asking for, in a wide range of drama, is going on throughout the whole of school education today, and that if there is any allergy to Shakespeare it is not the teachers' fault?

Is my right hon. Friend aware that the proposal contained in this Question would bring the most retrograde position? Is he aware that, apart from the many merits of William Shakespeare as an Englishman, this would lead the way and leave the door quite ajar to dictation from a Minister as to what should be taught exactly in the schools and how much of a particular subject? Is he aware, if at the next General Election or any subsequent General Election we were ill-favoured enough to get a reactionary Government returned, what the prospects of teaching in our schools would be?

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for his supplementary question, but the original Question was "To be or not to be?" and my answer was "Not to be".

Very good! Ten out of ten.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what action has now been taken towards developing a fourth television channel exclusively for educational and instructional purposes; and if he will make a statement.

I am discussing with my right hon. Friend the Postmaster-General a variety of proposals which have been made for experiments in educational broadcasting and which have implications for future educational and broadcasting policies. It is too early yet to make a statement.

What is the reason for this lamentably slow and timid attitude of the Government towards the idea of a fourth television channel devoted entirely to education and instruction? Where are the obstacles? Can the Government not pay more attention to the demands of educationists in this field and less attention to the pressure of the commercial radio lobby?

I think that the educationists in this field would be a little more cautious than the hon. Gentleman has been in his supplementary question. I feel that they would stress the importance of experimentation and a number of different experiments. It is precisely that sort of question which I am seeking to explore with my right hon. Friends.

Why does not the right hon. and learned Gentleman allow, to give one example which has been mentioned frequently in the House, the B.B.C. to go ahead with sound broadcasting programmes on an experimental basis, which it could do tomorrow if given leave?

What the B.B.C. allows is surely a question for my right hon. Friend the Postmaster-General.

Is my right hon. and learned Friend aware that the experiment which the Independent Television Authority has proposed has been hanging fire for about nine months and that there is a great danger of all the people with an interest in it losing that interest entirely?

I do not think there is much danger of people losing interest. I can certainly promise my hon. Friend that I do not propose to lose interest in it.

Is the right hon. and learned Gentleman aware that the Government have been riding off on the excuse of experimentation for several years? Is he also aware that hundreds of controlled experiments have been taking place in many countries, and that it is now time to take a decision? Will he tell us whether it is "to be" or "not to be" for educational television?

Whether it is better to bear

"The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,"

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what steps he is taking to ensure that teachers remain in their appointments for a minimum period of one year in order to avoid constant changes detrimental to the education of young children; and if he will make a statement.

The detrimental effect of frequent staffing changes is well known, but I would not think it either practicable or desirable to impose a requirement as to length of service upon the conditions of employment agreed between teachers and their employers.

Is my right hon. and learned Friend aware that in a case in my constituency a child had about six teachers in less than eighteen months? Surely that sort of thing is detrimental to our youngsters. Surely the regional authorities can plan a little better in the areas, and surely the recruiting drive by the Ministry should be stepped up even further.

No one denies the detrimental effect on children of frequent staffing changes. However, my hon. and gallant Friend must face the fact that the commonest reason why teachers leave is that they marry and have children, and I do not know quite what he expects me to do about that.

While I fully accept what the right hon. and learned Gentleman said in his original reply, may I ask whether he is aware that the problem here is particularly that of schools in slum areas and that his attention has been called to it in the Newsom Report? Can he say what action is being taken in the light of the Newsom Report?

The hon. Gentleman should remember that it was very largely because of difficulties of this kind that we introduced the quota system some years ago. I imagine that the hon. Gentleman would not dissent from the policy of the Government about national pay scales, which is, of course, one of the issues raised by this kind of Question. I imagine that he would not wish us to depart from our policy.

I should have expected that the Government would have discussed this by now with the teachers' representatives.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether he has reviewed the case of Mr. C. A. Bentley, a former teacher, with regard to his right to an increased pension; and whether he will make a statement.

I have reviewed Mr. Bentley's case and I am satisfied that his pension was correctly assessed under the Teachers (Superannuation) Acts. In particular, I cannot accept Mr. Bentley's claim that his service at Reading from 1939–1940 ought to be counted as full-time service and pensionable, since it is clear that he was engaged and paid by the L.C.C. as a part-time teacher.

I am grateful to my right hon. and learned Friend not only for that Answer, but for the deep personal interest which he has taken in this case. Would he not agree that this matter has been going on for a large number of years and that the decision which he has made must be accepted by Mr. Bentley as final?

I am afraid that it must. As my hon. Friend has said, this decision has been taken repeatedly by every Minister of Education since the late Mr. Tomlinson.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what was the expenditure on adult education, excluding grants for longterm residential colleges, last year; and what is to be the ceiling on such expenditure this year.

Grants from my Department towards adult education, excluding the residential colleges, totalled £816,460 in 1963–64 and are estimated at £868,750 in 1964–65.

As costs are rising, does not this mean an actual contraction, or at least a virtual standstill, in adult education at the very time when the Government are promising a big expansion in education? Is the right hon. and learned Gentleman aware that, as a result, in some areas the number of classes has had to be slashed? As the total expenditure involved is only 1/10th per cent of all Government education expenditure, will he consider abandoning this year's ceiling?

No, Sir. The Estimates for this year were designed to retain the expansion authorised and attained in 1963–64. In view of what the hon. Gentleman has suggested about increased costs, I should say that in addition to the figures which I gave, a recent salary award will, of course, be the subject of a Supplementary Estimate to take account of increased salaries.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that there has been dismay in the adult education world because of the Government's action, not so much this year, perhaps, as in resisting any sort of expansion for next year? Will he seriously reconsider this matter before the Estimates for next year are considered?

There has been no decision about next year that I am aware of. I am, of course, aware of the criticism of what was done this year, but even so, it does not do to overstate the case. It does not involve a contraction. It involves holding the expansion of the previous year.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether he is aware that Surrey Education Committee plan to spend money in a youth club to instruct young people on wine-tasting; what guidance he has issued to local education authorities in this regard; and whether he will make a statement.

I understand that the Surrey local education authority have no such intention and I see no need to issue any guidance.

I have in my possession a cutting which is a report in the Daily Telegraph of the proposals of the Surrey Education Committee. While I agree with all the other suggestions about youth club work, in view of our problems with adolescents, should not this part of the proposal be cut out, especially when, although students will pay something towards their courses, money which is part of the general subsidy to youth clubs is to be used for this purpose?

I am not responsible for statements in a cutting. I understand that in one area of Surrey an isolated course under the title, "Man about Town", for boys aged 16 and over, included one talk about wine, at which the lecturer produced small samples of wines. I understand that nearly all those who attended this course were aged 18 or over.

Is the right hon. and learned Gentleman aware that whatever the age of these young people, he ought to be concerned about protecting them from the evils of drink. [HON. MEMBERS: "Nonsense."] I realise that I cannot speak with the experience of many hon. Members opposite. None the less, is he aware that it is very offensive for public money to be used to encourage young people to acquire the habit of drinking?

I was asked a specific Question about the Surrey education authority and my information was that the statement in the Question was a mare's nest.

Would my right hon. and learned Friend agree that if this were a true statement it would be another example of gracious living in an affluent society?

Wine, as we all know, maketh glad the heart of man, but it does not necessarily follow that it ought to make glad the hearts of young children.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether the costing of new school buildings is being calculated now on the basis of a school-leaving age of 16 years in 1970.

The school buildings needed to cater for the additional pupils who will be in school as a result of raising the school leaving age are not included in the two-and-a-half year programmes for 1965–68. These programmes include, as have those for earlier years, the secondary places needed to provide for pupils who stay on voluntarily beyond the age of fifteen.

Would not the Secretary of State think it wise to include provision for the extra pupils in the school-building programme, as, when the school-leaving age is raised, presumably those schools will have to be used by them?

There is something in what the right hon. Gentleman says, but he should also bear in mind two facts. First, the physical confirmation of, say, a four-class entry school for a five-year course is not different from a five-class entry school for a four-year course and that these things are rather well left to the local authorities whose policies about school organization at the secondary stage are in a rather fluid state. Secondly, I am told that to start to predict now what would be needed to deal with the extra pupils in September, 1971, would be a little premature.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science, in view of the fact that the school-building programme is continuing for some time at a cost of over £75 million a year, what steps are being taken to ensure that the design of schools is kept up to date in the light of modern technology, particularly with regard to insulation against heat and noise; and whether it is intended to continue indefinitely with current school designs involving a large area of glass in the walls.

The Department's development group continues to be concerned with all aspects of modern building technology, and a building productivity group has recently been set up in the Department. I would refer my hon. Friend to the Answer given on 26th March to my hon. and gallant Friend the Member for Knutsford (Sir W. Bromley-Davenport) regarding the use of glass in schools. My Department has also been connected with the study of sound insulation of schools near London Airport.

While I hope that the Building Productivity Group will seriously look at the question, may I ask my right hon. and learned Friend to point out to it that in modern schools with very large areas of glass, in sunny times like the present the children are cooking with the heat and venetian blinds have to be fitted, and that in winter there is an excessive use of fuel to keep them warm? Would he consider instructing local authorities that the windows ought to be smaller and that we ought to use modern techniques to build schools in a reasonable way?

Many of these aspects of the matter are already known to the Productivity Group. Fashions in school building change and I think that there is a slight trend away from the use of glass which was so popular a year or two ago.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether he will take steps to encourage the reorganisation of teacher duties in order to make it possible for more trained married women to undertake part-time teaching.

The organisation of teaching duties is a matter I must leave to the schools themselves and the employing authorities. My Department is, however, studying the recruitment and employment policies of those authorities with a high proportion of part-time teachers and it will certainly publicise successful practice wherever this is found.

Does the hon. Gentleman recognise that in the questionnaire which married teachers answered as a result of the Kelsoe Committee inquiry, more than one quarter of both pre-war and post-war teachers said that a rearrangement of the time-table and more part-time posts were factors which would induce them to return to teaching?

My right hon. Friend is well aware of both those factors, and I would not deny that it is extremely important that schools should adjust themselves to a greater number of part-timers, a point which my noble Friend the Minister of State stressed in another place the other day.

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that part-time teachers are a necessary evil, but that schools have difficulty in adjusting their programmes to part-time teachers? It would be a mistake radically to alter the work of our schools on the assumption that we are to have part-time teachers for all time.

There is a great variation between areas and between schools in the success with which they modify to part-time teachers, but if all can follow the practice of the best, undoubtedly the teacher supply position will be eased.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what further steps he proposes to take to encourage married women to return to the teaching profession.

The national publicity campaign which began on 13th April has been well supported by local education authorities. My right hon. Friend proposes to see the response to this before deciding the next steps.

Would not it be a good thing to have a debate on the Kelsoe Report at some time?

That is hardly a question for me.

Will my hon. Friend impress on his right hon. Friend that one of the best ways of recruiting further married women to the teaching profession—and indeed other professional women—is to alter the basis of taxation of married couples?

My hon. Friend will be aware that since the Surtax levels were raised it is only a minority of wives who would be likely to be in an extremely unfavourable position as a result of being employed.

Can the hon. Gentleman say whether local authorities are being encouraged to appoint someone on their staff especially to study the problems of potential married women teachers in their areas, and to give advice where necessary?

I do not know of any particular appointments of that kind by local authorities, but I shall bear that suggestion in mind.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the earliest date on which he expects the rebuilding of Orleans County Secondary School, Twickenham, to start; and whether it can be brought forward before the 1967–68 programme.

It has not been possible to include this project in the school building programme for 1965–67. My right hon. Friend will in due course consider it for inclusion in 1967–68.

Will my hon Friend tell his right hon. Friend that the site for this school was acquired from the Post Office about three years ago, and that therefore they are able to proceed from the point of view of having a site? This school is in very old and congested buildings, and could not my hon. Friend bring this project forward earlier than 1966?

My right hon. Friend has been fully informed of the need for a new school in this case, and will bear in mind what my hon. Friend has said, but this case was not so urgent as a number of others in other parts of the country.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science, in view of the disappointment in Leyton at his decision not to authorise the building of a new Church Mead Infants' School, despite the Essex County Education Committee's approval, and in view of the urgent need for this school, whether he will now reconsider his decision.

I have received no representations about this project. I will consider any case put to me by the Essex Authority but I cannot add to the 1965–66 school building programme, which is now authorised in full.

Does the right hon. and learned Gentleman appreciate that this is a very old school—nearly 100 years old—and that it is very dark, lacks amenities, and is very noisy, and that there is a unanimous desire, especially as land is available, that the building should be destroyed and a better one put in its place? Will he give sympathetic consideration to the question if the local education authority and the local borough council approach him again?

I will consider any representations, subject to the general qualification that I made in my original Answer. I am aware of the conditions at this school, and I agree that new buildings are desirable.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will relax the regulations governing the qualifications for the grading of chief and senior technicians in universities.

No regulations on this matter are made by my Department. The qualifications required for appointments to the grades of chief and senior technician are matters for the universities.

I thank my right hon. Friend for that Answer. I was under the impression that his Department acted in conjunction with the University Grants Committee on this point and that there was this chronic shortage of senior and chief technicians in the universities. I speak from personal experience in this matter. Many people are being deterred from going into universities by the restricted promotion prospects. Would my right hon. Friend not agree that this situation is one which is almost a case of dead men's shoes rather than of ability?

The situation is that the Universities' Committee on Technical Staffs, on which, I understand, Queen's University, Belfast, is represented, made recommendations to the universities about the promotion of senior technicians and about the examination qualifications which should be recognised for all purposes, but, of course, universities are not committed by the recommendations. As autonomous institutions they must themselves decide their implementation.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether he will make a statement on the letter sent by him to the hon. Member for Glasgow, Govan, on 21st April concerning the relative nutritional value of food provided from broiler and roaster chickens.

As the hon. Member knows, I wrote to him on 21st April to draw his attention to an error in the OFFICIAL REPORT of 9th April, 1964, which I am having corrected for the Bound Volume.

May I thank the right hon. Gentleman for telling me that part of his reply was misleading and incorrect in that letter? Has the right hon. Gentleman given any further consideration since then to the point I raised about arsenic in broilers? Is he aware that while the quantity of arsenic which may be fed to these broilers is limited by the Pharmacy Acts, the amount of arsenic which the human being can acquire from broilers is quite unlimited? Does he not realise that this is a somewhat serious situation? If he has not inquired into it, would he look into it again?

I am sorry about the misreporting of one word of mine which I have tried now to put right. The hon. Gentleman has, since that ques- tion, pursued the matter with my right hon. Friend the Minister of Health. I think he does not, perhaps, take fully into account the provisions in the Arsenic in Food Regulations, 1959, which go a long way to meet the hon. Gentleman's point.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what proportion of the total effort of the Atomic Energy Authority is in work on graphite moderated reactors; and whether he will direct the Authority to pay greater attention to other reactor systems, in view of the doubt as to whether this type of reactor, especially on account of its high capital cost, is best suited for electricity generation in this country.

One third of the Authority's current effort on civil reactor development is on graphite moderated reactors, including participation in the international "Dragon" Project. As regards the second part of the Question, we have not yet the necessary information to compare the suitability of different reactor systems for electricity generation in this country. The Authority's current development effort on the advanced boiling water reactor is comparable with that on the graphite moderated advanced gas-cooled reactor.

Is it not a little disquieting that one public corporation appears to take a different view from another public corporation which is its chief customer? Is it not possible that we have taken the wrong turning by specialising so much in graphite-moderated reactors, and might it not be well to have a general review of this question?

There is no question yet of having taken a wrong turning. It is desired as a result of tendering inquiries that we should make a clear and fair comparison between the cost of an A.G.R. and of a B.W.R. built to the same standard and specification. We must await the decision which will be made after tenders have been received before considering this matter finally. There is no question of having taken a decision yet

In making a comparison between the A.G.R. and the other systems which would have to be imported from abroad, will development costs which have already been incurred by the Atomic Energy Authority be spread over the likely number of stations which will be ordered, or would they be written off altogether?

These are precisely the matters that we want to consider further, but I can assure the hon. Gentleman that the capital cost and the fuelling costs of all existing expenditure on development will be taken into account.

Would my right hon. Friend be prepared to consider again the inevitable emphasis which there must be on policy resulting from the fact that there is really only one customer for the Atomic Energy Authority here in the shape of the Central Electricity Generating Board? Bearing in mind the very considerable potential market which there may be abroad for atomic reactors, would he consider consulting his right hon. Friend the Minister of Power and possibly his right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade to see whether or not we can work out a system which ensures at least that the single customer factor does not result in our losing overseas markets?

That raises rather wider considerations, but I can assure my hon. Friend that this comparison will be a very important one and will require very skilled work, and the Government are determined that it should be done fairly and thoroughly.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will list the studies which have been carried out on the incidence of bronchitis and emphysema in the coalmining and other industries; and if he will make available to hon. Members a summary of the results of these studies.

The results of nine surveys of the occurrence among industrial workers of respiratory symptoms associated with chronic bronchitis and emphysema have been published since 1955. The material is too lengthy and diverse for convenient summary, but, with permission. I will circulate a list of references to these studies in the OFFICIAL REPORT.

Could the right hon. Gentleman give us an impartial and authoritative summary of the up-to-date research on this subject? Is he aware of the widespread opinion that we are not doing justice at the moment to workers who are disabled by dust diseases and that all we are lacking is authoritative evidence about the relationship between bronchitis and emphysema and certain occupations where there is a risk of dust? Can we have some effort to produce a summation of the results of all this scientific effort?

I can tell the hon. Gentleman, of whose interest in this matter I am aware, that the investigations to date have not demonstrated a connection between bronchitis and emphysema and conditions of employment. A number of very important surveys are now in progress of which I am ready to send the hon. Gentleman details. I do not think that we should yet reach a final decision in the matter.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will now publish the Padmore Report.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science when he intends to publish the Padmore Report on marine nuclear propulsion.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science why he has delayed publishing the Padmore Report.

The Report is being published today.

I thank the right hon. Gentleman and his right hon. and learned Friend for reacting so properly and promptly. Is the right hon. Gentleman in a position to make a further statement about the development of the Vulcain reactor?

I cannot make a statement today—after all, the Report was received by the Government only in April. However, the Government will make a further statement on this subject as soon as possible.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware of the long history of procrastination in this matter? Can he answer a question which the right hon. and learned Gentleman and the Prime Minister and other Ministers have failed to answer for a long time and which now seems to be much more pertinent with the publication of the Padmore Report, namely, is it the Government's intention to use any vessel now being built for the Royal Navy, for example, the fleet replenishment vessel being built in my constituency, to house this reactor?

I think that the hon. Gentleman will agree that the second part of his question goes far beyond the Question on the Order Paper, but I will say that the Government want to base their decision on a proper consideration of the Working Group's Report.

Is it not somewhat misleading to give the impression, as the right hon. Gentleman has done, that the Government have had only from the beginning of April to consider this matter? Is there not a long history over many years? Cannot the right hon. Gentleman this afternoon give a specific date for when the Government will announce their decision either to go ahead or to abandon the whole idea?

I regret that I cannot give a specific date, but I remind the hon. Gentleman of the statement in the Padmore Report that

"There is a paucity of established facts and reasonably assured deductions on which to base conclusions…"

As we now have the Padmore Report, and as we have been waiting for a decision because we did not have it, and as the Report asks the Government to take a decision, will the right hon. Gentleman tell us that a decision will be taken this Session and that we will have a White Paper which we can debate?

I can assure the hon. Gentleman that the Government are well aware of the importance of reaching a decision as soon as they can.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is now the total expenditure by Her Majesty's Government on the development of the Vulcain reactor.

The Atomic Energy Authority's share of expenditure to date on the Vulcain reactor is about £1 ¼ million. The Authority are partners in a joint project with Belgonulceaire, who have agreed that this information may be made public.

Without wishing to anticipate the Padmore Report, which I am glad is being published today, may I ask my right hon. Friend whether full development is continuing, and whether adequate money is available for the continuation of this project?

There are two points there. First, there is the A.E.A. commitment on scientific and experimental work on the Vulcain, and there is also a continuing commitment during the period of the fuel testing experiment with the BR-3 reactor, and for that about £750,000 will be spent over the next three or four years.