asked the Minister of Power what steps he is taking to ensure that adequate supplies of smokeless fuels are available during next winter and that shortage of supply does not lead to increased prices.

I do not expect any general shortage of solid smokeless fuels next winter. On the other point, I refer the hon. Member to the White Paper on Domestic Fuel Supplies and Clean Air Policy.

asked the Minister of Power whether he will request the Iron and Steel Board to publish the special report it has made on recent steel imports.

The Iron and Steel Board are investigating this matter but have made no special report.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry, Trade and Regional Development how many credits the British Export Credits Department has been authorised to underwrite for periods up to 15 years, compared with the previous five years' limit, to the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics; if they will be available for the smaller as well as the larger exporters; if they will be extended to all Eupropean Communist countries; and if he will make a statement.

Financial Guarantee facilities assist the provision, in appropriate cases, of long-term commercial credit for large capital projects and ocean-going ships.These are available in principle for exports to all countries for which E.C.G.D. provide cover and for the benefit of all British exporters. The facility is applied selectively and applications are considered on their individual merits. Several applications have been agreed in principle for orders in negotiation with the U.S.S.R. and other Eastern European countries but no guarantees have yet been issued for such business.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry, Trade and Regional Development how many new jobs have arisen as a result of aid under the Local Employment Act in each year since 1960, and in the first four months of 1964 in Scotland, England and Wales, respectively.

Projects for which assistance under the Local Employment Acts has been offered up to the end of April, 1964, are expected to provide 52,000 new jobs in Scotland, 69,000 in England, and nearly 10,000 in Wales. Following is a table analysing these totals according to the years in which the assistance was offered:

asked the Secretary of State for Industry, Trade and Regional Development whether he will remove the 20 per cent. duty on boned meat, in view of the shortage of beef and the changed circumstances since the duty was first imposed 30 years ago.

No.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry, Trade and Regional Development why, when conducting Mr. Patolichev, the Russian Minister of Foreign Trade, on a visit to the south and west of Scotland, he did not also take him to Aberdeen and the north-east of Scotland where there are opportunities of developing international trade with Russia.

In the short time available it was possible for Mr. Patolichev to visit only a very few of the many industrial centres interested in trade with the Soviet Union. During his weekend in Scotland he met leading representatives of Scottish industry.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry, Trade and Regional Development what is the total amount of paper used annually in the production of British newspapers and periodicals.

Information is only available in respect of newsprint for newspapers and periodicals, the consumption of which in 1963 was 1309 thousand tons.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry, Trade and Regional Development what authorisations he has issued under the terms of the Protection of Depositors Act 1963 to organisations advertising for deposits offering excessive rates of interest; and what application has been made to him by Sporting Investment Company for such authorisation.

The answer to both parts of my hon. Friend's Question is "None".

asked the Secretary of State for Industry, Trade and Regional Development whether he is satisfied with the response to the proposals made by Her Majesty's Government at the United Nations Trade and Development Conference at Geneva; and whether he will make a statement on the progress of the Conference.

Her Majesty's Government are continuing to work for a successful outcome of the Conference. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Industry, Trade and Regional Development is now in Geneva for the final stage of the Conference.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry, Trade and Regional Development what consideration he has given to encouraging the sale of plant for building general purpose computers to State-trading countries; and if he will make a statement.

None, since there is no special plant for the manufacture of complete computers.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry, Trade and Regional Development if he has now completed his inquiries concerning the registration of the Whitney Bridge Trust under the terms of the Registration of Business Names Act 1916.

Not yet. Inquiries are still being made.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry, Trade and Regional Development on how many occasions British manufacturers have been refused permission to sell nuclear reactors to Roumania and other countries in Eastern Europe because of North Atlantic Treaty Organisation restrictions; and what decision has now been taken regarding this embargo.

British manufacturers were informed earlier this year that a licence would not be given in present circumstances for the export of a nuclear reactor to Roumania.On the second part of the Question, I would refer the hon. Member to the Answer which I have given today to my hon. Friend the Member for Harrow, East (Commander Courtney).

asked the Secretary of State for Industry, Trade and Regional Development what inquiries have now been received from the Roumanian Government regarding the supply of nuclear power stations; and what progress has been made in his attempt, subject to appropriate safeguards, to seek to remove this type of equipment from the strategic embargo list.

I understand that the Roumanians have made enquiries of of several firms in this country and elsewhere. My right hon. Friend is in favour in principle of seeking a modification of the embargo to facilitate the export of individual nuclear reactors subject to the proper safeguards. We are in touch with the United States Government on all aspects of this matter, which will of course have to be considered by all the other countries operating the embargo.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry, Trade and Regional Development what is the total number of applications for assistance under the Local Employment Act 1960 received to date by the Board of Trade Advisory Committee from the Caernarvon constituency; how many were granted; how many were rejected; and how many are still under consideration.

19 applications for assistance have been received by the Board of Trade Advisory Committee from firms within the area of the Caernarvon constituency under Section 4 of the Local Employment Act 1960 but of these 9 were subsequently withdrawn. One of the remainder was granted, eight were rejected, and one is still under consideration. Assistance has been offered to projects within the constituency under other Sections of the Act.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry, Trade and Regional Development if he will list the firms which opened new factories or departments in the Bishop Auckland travel to work area between 1st January, 1960, and 31st December, 1963; how many employees they took on from this area; in what categories they were employed; and how many employees they brought in from outside the area.

In the employment exchange areas of Bishop Auckland, Crook, Shildon and Spennymoor 16 industrial building projects were completed for 11 firms. The total number of jobs likely to arise from these developments was 1,135. Details of the individual projects and their employment cannot be disclosed.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry, Trade and Regional Development by how many the number of live bovine cattle, other than for breeding or dairy purposes, imported into this country in the first four months of this year differed from the number imported in the same period of last year; and if he will give corresponding figures for similar live cattle exported from this country in the same periods.

The following is the information:

asked the Secretary of State for Industry, Trade and Regional Development what is the current level of import duty charged on British computers entering the United States of America; when this rate was introduced; and what was the previous level.

The import duty charged on British computers entering the United States of America is 11½ per cent. ad valorem; this rate was introduced on 1st July, 1963. The previous rate, from 1st July, 1962, was 12½ per cent. ad valorem, and before that date 13¾ per cent. ad valorem. These reductions resulted from the Dillon round of tariff negotiations under the G.A.T.T.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry, Trade and Regional Development whether he will now make a statement on a study of the problems of the South-West.

Following my statement of 27th February, I have now received a request from the Joint Committee for the Economy of the South West for a grant in aid of an initial programme of work to be undertaken by a firm of consultants. I have agreed to this request, subject to Parliamentary approval of a Supplementary Estimate which will be presented in due course.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many condemned or obsolete school buildings remain to be replaced in Staffordshire; and how many replacements are included in next year's building programme.

I understand from the local education authority that 114 schools remain for replacement. Seven replacement projects are included in the 1965–66 major building programme.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will state, for the latest date for which figures are available, the numbers and percentages of infant, junior, and senior classes in Staffordshire which have over 30, over 40, and over 50, pupils, respectively.

The information is as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science, in view of the shortage of qualified town planners, what discussions he has had with regard to the provision for an extension of university planning schools.

Officers of my Department are in touch with the Town Planning Institute, the Ministry of Housing and Local Government and the University Grants Committee on this subject.

asked the Secretary of Stats for Education and Science what is the number of full-time, part-time and evening students currently enrolled at the Folkestone Technical College.

In November, 1963, 408 full-time, 792 part-time and 1,404 evening students were enrolled in the south-east Kent Technical College. About 60 per cent. of the total number of students attended the courses at the Folkestone Branch of the College.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what discussions he has had with a view to establishing a joint negotiating body for settling the salaries and conditions of service of community centre wardens; and when he expects such a body to be established.

I have held discussions with the National Federation of Community Associations and the Society of Neighbourhood Workers and I am in consultation with the Local Authority Associations about setting up negotiating machinery.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what courses are at present available in England and Wales for the training of community centre wardens; and what proposals he has for the extension of such courses.

A two-year full-time course for training community centre wardens is provided at Westhill Training College, Birmingham. I have no present plans for the extension of such courses.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will publish in the OFFICIAL REPORT the maintenance costs of each training college for the last convenient year.

Following are the costs for 1962–63:

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the number of primary and secondary schools, and the number of pupils at each school, within the area of each of the local education authorities in Wales at which the Welsh language is the medium of tuition.

The latest available particulars about schools or departments in Wales where Welsh is the medium of tuition are as follows for areas which are mainly English speaking:

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many applications he has received during the past five years from the local education authorities in Wales for the provision of primary and secondary schools at which the Welsh language would be the medium of tuition; and how many of these applications were granted.

Since January, 1960, my Department has received ten proposals, seven primary and three secondary, from Welsh local education authorities for the provision, in mainly English-speaking areas, of schools or departments in which the Welsh language would be the main medium of instruction. All these proposals have been approved. Six of these schools or departments were formed by the reorganisation of existing schools, and four by the establishment of new schools under Section 14 of the Education Act, 1944.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what steps he is taking to expand the opportunities for the further training of serving teachers.

On 25th May I sent a circular to local education authorities to outline my plans for the expansion of one-year and short courses for teachers and to ask for their co-operation in expanding their own provision in co-operation with the institutes of education, the professional associations and other bodies. I am particularly anxious to increase opportunities for experienced teachers who wish to take full-time advanced courses, and for married women teachers who may thereby be encouraged to return to teaching.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will introduce legislation to deal with the problem of the intrusion of mobile vans selling ice-cream from rural areas to built-up areas bearing in mind the high rates that local shopkeepers are paying.

I am unable to add at present to the reply given to a Question by the hon. Member for Accrington (Mr. H. Hynd) on 6th February.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he intends to introduce legislation to strengthen and rationalise the law relating to fire precautions in residential establishments and places of resort, including bingo clubs.

I cannot at present add to the answer given to the Question by the hon. Member for Oldham, East (Mr. Mapp) on 16th April.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will take steps to require coroners to utilise the services of practising qualified pathologists for all coroners' post mortem examinations.

The Coroners' Rules 1953 require a coroner in deciding who should conduct a post-mortem examination to have regard to the desirability of the examination being made by a pathologist with suitable qualifications and experience and having access to laboratory facilities. I am satisfied that this recommendation is generally followed. Exceptionally, circumstances may arise in which a suitably qualified pathologist is not readily available, and that being so I do not think that it would be right to take away the coroner's discretion to appoint some other duly qualified medical practitioner.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will advise the Metropolitan Police authorities to take action to ensure a more thorough investigation of persons using vehicles on the road with out the necessary driving licence and, in some instances, without the necessary road fund licences.

No. The Commissioner of Police tells me that it is normal practice for the police to ask to see driving licences when drivers are interviewed in connection with accidents, offences, or for other reasons. If the driver holds a provisional licence, production of the qualified person's licence is also required.With regard to action taken by the police to check road fund licences, I would refer to the answer my right hon. Friend gave to the hon. Member on 26th March.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he is aware of the growing practice of vehicles in the Metropolitan Police area being driven by holders of provisional driving licences unaccompanied and without "L" plates; what action the Metropolitan Police take to check this offence; to what extent spot checks are held; when such checks were last held; and how many prosecutions have taken place during the last month for these offences.

The Commissioner of Police tells me that driving licences are checked as one of a number of police actions taken at the same time. They are normally examined whenever the police have occasion to interview a driver and are not the subject of spot checks held to deal solely with driving licence offences.During 1963, there were in the Metropolitan Police District 8,538 prosecutions of provisional licence holders for being unaccompanied by a qualified driver, and 11,870 prosecutions of provisional licence holders for not having "L" plates on their vehicles. The numbers of convictions were 8,311 and 11,595 respectively. Later figures are not yet available.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many men are now serving prison sentences following conviction in cases in which Detective-Sergeant Harold Challoner was involved; and how many of these men have asked for their cases to be reviewed;(2) what action he intends to take in regard to the police report on men now serving sentences following conviction in cases in which Detective-Sergeant Harold Challoner was involved.

Five men now serving prison sentences, in whose cases this officer was concerned, have asked for their convictions to be reviewed. I am not aware of any other such cases. I have received a copy of the report which has been sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions on the police investigation into these cases, and I am urgently studying it, but I am not yet in a position to make a statement.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether, in view of the indication in the judgment of the House of Lords in Metropolitan Police Commissioner v. Hammond that it might be necessary to give urgent consideration to the whole procedure for sending accused persons from this country to the Republic of Ireland and, in particular, in the case of British subjects who had never resided in that part of Ireland, he will now introduce legislation to deal with the matter.

I am urgently studying the implications of the judgment of the House of Lords in this case.

asked the Minister of Labour how many jobs in industry, other than mining, ceased in the Bishop Auckland travel to work area between 1st January, 1960, and 31st December, 1963; and how many new jobs materialised in the same period.

The only comprehensive figures showing changes in the number of jobs are based on comparisons of the number of employees in employment at the mid-year counts. Between mid-1959 and mid-1963 the estimated number of employees in employment, excluding coal-mining, in the Bishop Auckland travel-to-work group decreased by 200.

asked the Minister of Labour if he will list the firms, their type of work, and the number of their employees which closed between 1st January, 1960, and 31st December, 1963, in the Bishop Auckland travel to work area.

Other than National Coal Board establishments, the closures of three firms in this area have been notified to our local officers during the period. I regret that because of the confidential nature of the information I cannot disclose the names of individual firms, their type of work or the number of their employees. As I said in reply to the hon. Member's question No. 55 the estimated number of employees in employment, other than coalmining, in the Bishop Auckland travel-to-work area decreased by 200 during the period mid-1959 to mid-1963.

asked the Minister of Labour what was the estimated migration of insured workers from Tees-side in 1963.

The estimates of migration of employees for which our Department is responsible are compiled only on the basis of Ministry of Labour regions.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when the report of the committee of inquiry into the future needs for veterinary graduates will be published.

I understand that the preparation of the report is in its final stages and my right hon. Friend hopes to receive it shortly. Publication should be possible about the end of July.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food for what reasons registered pupils under the Agricultural Apprentice Scheme in Staffordshire are significantly fewer than in Cheshire and Warwickshire; and to what extent principals of county council agricultural educational institutions in Staffordshire have, as members of the local apprenticeship committees, given their support to the scheme at meetings of the committees.

The Apprenticeship Council set up by the industry is responsible for the Agricultural Apprenticeship Scheme and for the Committees which run the Scheme in each county. It would be wrong for me to comment on the work done in particular counties under the Council's auspices.

asked the Minister of Health, in view of the fact that the present typhoid epidemic in Aberdeen has spread to other places, some of which are in England, and has become a national danger, if he will now appoint another committee of inquiry, to be presided over by a High Court judge, with wider terms of reference, with a view to limiting the spread of the epidemic, and to recommending and assessing compensation for all presons and businesses damaged by it.

No.

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance what recent representations have been received from retirement pensioners' associations and similar bodies regarding the budgetary provision that has been made for a further pension increase.

None.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he will publish a table of the 42 dependent overseas territories to which Her Majesty's Government extended the application of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, showing the estimated population of each such territory, and the date on which independence was attained by those which are no longer dependent, or will be attained by those for whom a date for independence has been agreed.

Following is the reply:

asked the Secretary of State for Defence whether, following his decision to supply the Government of Spain with naval armaments, he now proposes to provide them also with military armaments.

Any proposals for the export of arms to Spain, as to other countries, will be examined on their merits.

asked the Prime Minister whether he is satisfied that the existing machinery for liaison and consultation between local authorities on both sides of the Scottish Border is as complete as it should be to ensure uniform and efficient administration in all fields, in particular those of transport, public health, water supplies, and police responsibilities; and if he will make a statement.

I have been asked to reply.So far as my right hon. Friend is aware, relationships between the local authorities on different sides of the Border are very close and there is adequate consultation in fields where it is needed.

asked the Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations and the Colonies what official exchanges have now taken place with the Government of Southern Rhodesia regarding the constitutional future of that territory.

I have no further statement to make on this subject at the present time.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs when he expects to give his decision on the compulsory purchase orders which were made by Wood Green Borough Council on 2nd December, 1963, in regard to 17 White Hart Lane, N.22, and 17 Park Avenue, N.22, and on 21st October, 1963, in regard to 26 Maidstone Road, N.11.

My decision confirming the compulsory purchase order on the first and second properties was issued on 9th June. I expect to give a decision on the third property in the next two or three weeks.

asked the Postmaster-General if he will give the names of the telephone exchanges in the Parliamentary constituency of Antrim, South, using the system of subscriber trunk dialling and also those in which the system will be installed, stating in the latter case the estimated dates of installation.

The exchanges in the Antrim, South constituency with STD are Glengormley and Larne; also one of the exchanges in the Belfast system, which has STD, is within the constituency.The dates on which I plan to introduce STD at other exchanges in the constituency are:—

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works what was the value of building materials exported during 1963; and how this figure compares with 1962, 1959 and 1953.

The value of building materials and components exported during 1963 is estimated at £101 million. As the headings under which some exports were recorded were changed at the end of 1962, exact comparisons cannot be made with earlier years. On the previous basis the figures for 1962, 1959 and 1953 were about £100 million; £105·6 million; and £91·7 million respectively.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland when he received a communication from Mr. R. S. Paton, 72 St. Leonard's Street, Dunfermline, regarding the effect of the proposed Forth Road Bridge toll on moped users; and what reply he has sent.

I have replied to the letter which Mr. Paton sent to the Prime Minister on 27th May, as the approval of the toll schedule proposed by the Forth Road Bridge Joint Board was a matter for me. I am sending the hon. Member a copy.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what plans he has for the expansion and development of language laboratory techniques in Scottish education.

Language laboratories are in operation in 15 schools, three colleges of further education, six colleges of education and the Scottish College of Commerce. Their introduction is planned in at least a further 14 schools and six colleges of further education. A preliminary course for teachers on language laboratory techniques will be held in September by Glasgow University and Glasgow Education Authority jointly and similar courses elsewhere will be held later. My Department is closely associated with these developments and is encouraging the authorities concerned.