asked the Minister of Labour if he will bring up to date the information given in columns 125 and 126 of Written Answers in the Official Report for 3rd December, 1962, regarding weekly wage rates in certain occupations.

The following is the information requested:

STATEMENT OF MINIMUM OR STANDARD TIME RATES OF WAGES FOR CERTAIN OCCUPATIONS AT 14TH JULY, 1964
Occupation	Industry	Rate of Pay Per annum
Blacksmith	Electricity supply	£775*
Per week
		s.	d.
	Farriery (firemen)	245	0
	Gas supply (maintenance)	267	9
	Light castings	210	2
	Shipbuilding	211	4
Bricklayer, carpenter and plumber.	Building	257	3
Cabinet maker	Furniture manufacture	249	5
Cooper	Coopering	259	0
Electrician	Electrical contracting	292	3
Erector	Constructional engineering	252	0
		252	0
Fitter (skilled)	Civil Air Transport	227	11¼
Per annum
	Electricity supply	£775*
Per week
		s.	d.
	Engineering	211	8
Instrument maker	Surgical instrument and equipment manufacture	236	3
Per annum
Jointer	Electricity supply	£755*
Per week
		s.	d.
Moulder	Brass working and founding.	223	4
	Light castings	217	9½
Locksmith	Lock, latch and key-making	236	6
Patternmaker	Engineering	250	4½
	Light castings	228	5
	Lock, latch and key-making	245	10
Plater	Gas supply (maintenance)	267	9
	Shipbuilding	211	4
Plumber jointer	Electrical cable making	274	9
Printer	Printing and bookbinding	270	8
Riveter	Constructional engineering	255	6

asked the Minister of Labour what reply he has made to the communication from the hon. Member for Ilford, North, about labour in the printing industry.

I would refer the hon. Member to my letter of 7th July advising him that under the rules of the trade union concerned his constituent can, if he so desires, appeal against a decision of his trade union branch to higher authority in the union.

asked the Minister of Labour what is his latest estimate of vacancies to be filled in England, Scotland and Wales, respectively; what advice he has received from his regional offices about the prospects of placing in employment this year's school leavers; and what special arrangements have been made to obtain from employers up-to-date and comprehensive data about available jobs.

Vacancies notified to employment exchanges and unfilled at 10th June totalled 339, 204 in England, 17,588 in Scotland and 11,565 in Wales. Employment prospects for this summer's school leavers are good. My local officers are in day-to-day contact with employers about their immediate and prospective needs for workers and Youth Employment Officers have been canvassing employers for vacancies for the school leavers.

asked the Minister of Labour if he is aware of the proposed closing of the Associated Electrical Industries factory at Trent Vale, Stoke-on-Trent; and what arrangements he is making so that the workpeople may be engaged on the manufacture of similar products.

I am aware of the proposed closure. Our local officers have already interviewed the workers at the factory and will do all they can to find suitable alternative employment for those who seek our assistance. The prospects for these workpeople are reasonably good.

asked the Minister of Labour if he will publish in the Official Report a table showing the ratio of wholly-unemployed persons to notified unfilled vacancies for each of his administrative regions at June 1961, and June, 1964.

Following is the information:

Region	Ratio of Wholly Unemployed to Unfilled Vacancies with Wholly Unemployed at 100
	June, 1961	June, 1964
London and South Eastern	265	239
Eastern and Southern	266	272
South Western	197	156
Midlands	243	237
Yorkshire and Lincolnshire	224	146
North Western	122	66
Northern	46	25
Scotland	36	25
Wales	93	57
Great Britain	150	116

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether, having regard to President Nasser's declaration on 1st July of the Egyptian Government's policy regarding the inevitability of war with Israel, Her Majesty Government will seek, through the Security Council or diplomatic channels or both, an Arab-Israel conciliation conference or other appropriate meeting, and meanwhile take steps, whether by reaffirmation of the Tripartite Declaration or otherwise, to make clear to Egypt and other Powers concerned the consequences of aggression in the Middle East.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he is aware that Egypt is increasing its armaments for the declared purpose of attacking Israel; and what action Her Majesty's Government are taking through the United Nations or otherwise to preserve peace in the area.

President Nasser has endorsed Mr. Khrushchev's proposal that force should be renounced in the settlement of regional differences and border disputes. As my right hon. Friend the Member for Bromley (Mr. H. Macmillan) said on 14th May, 1963, we will consult immediately with the United Nations if any threat to peace arises in the Middle East and will take whatever action we feel may be required. Meanwhile, Her Majesty's Government support the efforts of the United Nations Palestine Conciliation Commission to achieve a settlement of the dispute between the Arab States and Israel.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he will make a statement about his decision not to claim from Japan war reparations on behalf of Hong Kong citizens.

I have nothing to add to the reply given by my right hon. Friend to the hon. Gentleman the Member for Dunfermline Burghs (Dr. A. Thompson) on 13th July.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs by what authority a statement was made by the British Ambassador in Madrid to the effect that the present Spanish régime had done more than its predecessors for the working classes.

Her Majesty's Ambassador has made no such public statement.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what progress has been made in the discussions between the Uruguayan authorities and Her Majesty's Ambassador at Montevideo regarding flag discrimination in favour of Uruguayan shipping.

I regret to say that no final solution has yet been reached. Her Majesty's Ambassador and the British Chargé d'Affaires in Montevideo have been in constant touch with the Uruguayan authorities who have assured them that some modification of the relevant decree is being actively considered.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, as co-chairman of the Geneva Conference, what estimate he has received from the Control Commission of the number of deaths, military and civilian, which have occurred in Vietnam since 1959 as a result of hostilities in that country, distinguishing by nationality and including specifically British, Australian, Malaysian, American, Vietnamese, and Chinese casualties.

I have received no information of this nature from the Control Commission. It is not the responsibility of Her Majesty's Government to maintain statistics of non-British casualties in foreign countries. There has been one British casualty.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he will publish in the OFFICIAL REPORT a list of the places where unpaid consuls have been appointed; and whether in any case expenses are paid.

Yes. The honorary consular officers at the posts shown on the list below receive either an allowance or a proportion of the fees they collect towards their expenses.

Places where honorary consular officers have been appointed:
Algeria	Dominican Republic
Bone.	Puerto Plata.
Oran.	San Pedro de Macoris.
Argentine Republic
Comodora Rivadavia.	El Salvador
	San Salvador.
La Plata.	La Libertad.
Puerto Deseaso.	Finland
Rio Gallegos.	Hamina.
Rio Grande (Tierra del Fuego).	Kotka.
Santa Cruz.	Oulu (Uleaborg).
Trelew.	Pori (Björneborg).
Rosario.	Tampere (Tammerfors).
Cordoba
Salta.	Turku (Abo).
Cipoiletti.	Vaasa.
Bahia Blanca.	France
Belgium	Boulogne.
Ostend.	Dunkirk.
Bolivia	Ajaccio.
Cochabamba.	Guadeloupe (Pointeà Pitre).
Brazil	Dieppe.
Belem.	Cherbourg.
Fortalêza (Ceara).	St. Malo.
Porto Alegre.	Papeete (Tahiti).
Rio Grande.	Reunion.
Victoria.
Curitiba.	Greece
Manos.	Corfu.
Santos.	Samos.
Cameroon, The Federal Republic of Douala.	Guatemala
	Bananera.
	Honduras
	San Pedro Sula.
Chile	Tela.
Antofagasta.
Arica.	Iceland
Iquique.	Akureyri.
Valparaiso.	Italy
Concepcion.	Trieste.
Coquimbo.	Messina.
Osorno.
Punta Arenas (Magallanes).	Japan
	Nagoya.
Colombia, Republic of	Moji.
Cali.	Malagasy Republic
Barranquilla.	Tamatave.
Cartagena.	Mexico
Congo, Republic —	Guadelajara.
Stanleyville.	Guaymas.
Dahomey Republic —
Cotonou.	Mazatlan.
	Merida.
	Monterrey.
Denmark	Pachuca.
Aabenraa.	Tampico.
Aalborg.	Tapachula.
Aarhus.	Torreon.
Esbjerg.	Vera Cruz.
Odense.
Thorshavn.	Morocco
Klaksvig.	Laraiche.

asked the hon. Member for Dover, as Second Church Estates Commissioner, if the Church Commissioners will consider the situation arising from a recent High Court decision that a rectory house is an ecclesiastical building and therefore not a building on which a preservation order may be made; and if they will consult with the Minister of Housing and Local Government with a view to securing the preservation of such buildings if they are of special historic or architectural interest.

Yes. It is the Commissioners' practice to consult with the appropriate Government Department about proposals with which they may be concerned affecting parsonage houses which are listed under Section 32 of the Town and Country Planning Act, 1962. They will certainly continue to do so.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs how many United Kingdom nationals below the rank of diplomatic agent and attached to British missions in the capitals of the four countries with whom Her Majesty's Government has special reciprocal arrangements will in future possess personal immunity and inviolability of residence in excess of that allowed to their rank under the provisions of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations; and what is the nature of their present employment in the missions concerned.

There are at present 128 United Kingdom citizens below the rank of diplomatic agent, together with 61 wives, attached to Her Majesty's Diplomatic Missions in the capitals concerned, the maintenance of whose immunity and inviolability at the present level is guaranteed by the reciprocal arrangements to which my hon. and gallant Friend refers.These individuals are employed in the administrative and technical service of Her Majesty's Missions, or as domestic servants.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what arms Her Majesty's Government are currently supplying to Yugoslavia.

It is not Her Majesty's Government's practice to disclose the details of sales of arms to foreign States.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he will make a statement on the meeting of the Ministerial Council of the Western European Union held in Paris.

This was the fourth quarterly meeting of the Ministerial Council of Western European Union since these meetings were resumed at The Hague in October, 1963. As is customary, there was a political and an economic day. The subjects discussed on the political day included East-West Relations, Africa South of the Sahara and South East Asia. I gave my colleagues an account of developments concerning Cyprus. On the economic day, there was an exchange of views on The Kennedy Round and the outcome of the United Nations Trade and Development Conference. We discussed certain aspects of the relations between the United Kingdom and the European Economic Community, and I made a statement about the recent European Free Trade Association Ministerial Meeting. I also took the opportunity to tell my Western European Union colleagues that we intend to arrange for a United Kingdom contribution of £7·1 million to the Inter-American Development Bank.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works if he is aware that the Church Council of the Royal Garrison Church at Portsmouth, together with the commanding officers of various Service units, have been trying to get funds to restore part of the nave of the bombed church which is still left with no roof since the war; and whether he will now make an allocation to enable some work to be done on this building.

While my right hon. Friend the Minister of Defence for the Army and I would of course consider any specific proposal that might be made, it would be difficult to justify Government expenditure on this at the present time since I understand that the congregation using this church do not need additional accommodation.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works whether he will take steps to remove dead trees in Trafalgar Square and replant with large trees.

As indicated in my reply of 20th April, the existing trees will be felled this autumn. Following consultation with the Royal Fine Art Commission, I have decided that those on the north side should not be replaced immediately, so that the effect may be seen of opening up the view of and from the National Gallery. If it appears that the trees on the north side should also be replaced, this will be done later. The new trees will be plane trees about 19 ft. high.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works what edifices in the Chigwell urban district and the Epping and Ongar rural district, respectively, are scheduled as ancient monuments.

The following monuments are scheduled under the Ancient Monuments Acts:

• Nether Hall, Roydon.
• Chipping Ongar Castle.
• Loughton Camp.
• Epping Upland, Ambresbury Banks.
• Ongar, Moated site in Fortification Wood, Navestock.
• Shelley, Mound on Shelley Common.

Apart from Nether Hall these monuments either are earthworks or have no upstanding remains.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works what types of brick are at present in short supply in Scotland.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works (1) what local authority housing schemes are now being delayed through the current shortage of bricks;(2) what local education authority building projects are being delayed through the current shortage of bricks;(3) what major Government building contracts are now being delayed because of the current shortage of bricks.

I have had reports of delays in the supply of bricks to a number of building sites and long delivery dates are being quoted for some types of bricks. But there is no evidence of any serious or widespread delay to building projects of any kind.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works what percentage of the bricks used in Scotland is. produced in Scotland; and how this percentage compares with the percentages for the years 1957 and 1960.

No figures are available, but I estimate that less than 5 per cent. of Scottish demands are met from bricks produced outside Scotland and that the proportion was not significantly different in 1957 and 1960.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works what is the average delivering date at present for the supply of bricks in Scotland; and in what parts of Scotland longer than average delivery dates are being quoted.

It is not possible to quote an average delivery date for orders generally. Contractors who ordered their bricks well in advance are obtaining them when they are needed. For new orders delivery dates generally average between three and four months. The position in the east of Scotland is a little more difficult than elsewhere.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works what are the expected delivery dates of common bricks and facing bricks, respectively, ordered in Birmingham, Leeds, Croydon, Middlesbrough, and Newcastle-upon-Tyne, respectively, this month for delivery in those towns.

—			Assessment of disablement (per cent)
			100		90		80		70		60		50		40
			s.	d.	s.	d.	s.	d.	s.	d.	s.	d.	s.	d.	s.	d.
Actual pension rate—
July, 1954	…	…	55	0	49	6	44	0	38	6	33	0	27	6	22	0
February, 1955	…	…	67	6	60	9	54	0	47	3	40	6	33	9	27	0
January, 1958	…	…	85	0	76	6	68	0	59	6	51	0	42	6	34	0
April, 1961	…	…	97	6	87	9	78	0	68	3	58	6	48	9	39	0
May, 1963	…	…	115	0	103	6	92	0	80	6	69	0	57	6	46	0
Equivalent at June, 1964, prices of the rate payable in—
July, 1954	…	…	73	8	66	3	58	11	51	7	44	2	36	10	29	5
February, 1955	…	…	89	6	80	7	71	7	62	8	53	8	44	9	35	10
January, 1958	…	…	99	3	89	4	79	5	69	6	59	6	49	7	39	8
April, 1961	…	…	108	7	97	9	86	11	76	0	65	2	54	4	43	5
May, 1963	…	…	118	10	107	0	95	1	83	3	71	4	59	5	47	7

The delivery dates being quoted for common bricks and facing bricks ordered this month are different for different brickmakers and merchants and it is not possible to give figures for particular localities.

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance if he will tabulate the amount and dates of the increases granted during the last 10 years in the basis of war disablement pensions to limbless ex-Service men, indicating with figures the relation of these increases to the present cost of living, with particular reference to costs in Scotland.

I assume the hon. and learned Member is referring to the rates of the basic disablement pensions for limbless ex-private soldiers or equivalent ranks. The scheduled assessments for the loss of one or more limbs range from 40 to 100 per cent. and the table below shows the increases made in the rates over the past 10 years and the real value of those rates, on the basis of the Retail Prices Index—which applies to the United Kingdom as a whole—in terms of June, 1964, prices.Following is the information:

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance how the real value of the basic rates of war pensions and of the main supplementary

—	Present rates of pension or allowance		October, 1951				Increase in real terms
			Rate payable		Equivalent at June, 1964 prices *		Amount		Per cent.
	s.	d.	s.	d.	s.	d.	s.	d.
100 per cent. disablement pension	115	0	45	0	67	8	47	4	70·0
Unemployability supplement	74	0	35	0	52	7	21	5	40·7
Unemployability supplement with Comforts allowance (from February, 1957)	84	0	35	0	52	7	31	5	59·7
Constant attendance allowance	50	0	20	0	30	1	19	11	66·3
Constant attendance allowance with Comforts allowance (from February, 1957)	60	0	20	0	30	1	29	11	99·6
Allowance for lowered standard of occupation	46	0	20	0	30	1	15	11	53·0
Widow's pension	90	0	35	0	52	7	37	5	71·1
Widow's pension and elderly widow's grant (from June, 1959)	100	0	35	0	52	7	47	5	90·1
Widow and two children	173	0	57	0	85	8	87	4	101·9
Widow's rent allowance	34	0	15	0	22	7	11	5	50·8
* On the basis of the Retail Prices Index.

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance if he will reconsider the case of Mr. L. J. A. Richardson of 340, Barry Road, Barry, who was formerly paid industrial injury benefit at 30 per cent., in the light of recent correspondence from the hon. Member for Barry.

As I have explained to my hon. Friend the responsibility for determining a claim under the Industrial Injuries Acts rests with independent statutory authorities, and my right hon. Friend has no power to intervene in their decisions.

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance if he will state the expenditure on National Insurance benefits for widows in each financial year from 1951.

The following table based on figures for June, 1964, gives the information:

The information is provided in the following table:

EXPENDITURE (£ MILLION)
Year		Widow's benefit (1)	Retirement pension paid to widows on their husband's insurance (2)	Total of columns (1) and (2)
1951–52	…	24	82	106
1952–53	…	28	93	121
1953–54	…	31	96	127
1954–55	…	32	100	132
1955–56	…	36	122	158
1956–57	…	38	126	164
1957–58	…	44	136	180
1958–59	…	58	162	220
1959–60	…	62	164	226
1960–61	…	66	163	229
1961–62	…	80	187	267
1962–63	…	84	188	272
1963–64	…	100	216	316
1964–65	…	109	223	332

NOTE: Estimated expenditure is given for the last two years quoted.

asked the Minister of Health how many orthoptists are now employed under the National Health Service; by how many this figure falls short of the number required to provide an adequate service in all regions; and what steps he is taking to make good the shortage.

The whole-time equivalent of 209 were employed on 30th September, 1963. I regret that the information about vacancies is not available. The training is being re-organised to enable the number of students to be increased.

asked the Minister of Health (1) how many dental surgeons were in Leek, Kidsgrove, Biddulph and Cheadle, respectively, in the Leek constituenucy in the years 1948, 1953 and 1960; and what the number is at present;(2) how many dental surgeons are available to do work at the schools in Leek, Kidsgrove, Cheadle and Biddulph, respectively; how often the children's teeth are examined; and how long these children have to wait in order to make them dentally fit.

The numbers of dental surgeons providing treatment under the general dental services at addresses in the places named are shown in the following table:

Town	1948	1953	1960	Now
Leek	7	5	5	5
Kidsgrove	2	3	2	2
Biddulph	3	3	2	1
Cheadle	2	1	1	2

A dentist who now practices at both Leek and Cheadle has been shown against each town. The figures do not include assistants who have been employed by practitioners from time to time. My right hon. Friend has no information about dentists wholly in private practice.I understand from my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Education and Science, that in addition one dentist is available in each town for work in schools, including part-time work: that school children's teeth are examined at least once every two years at Cheadle and Biddulph and every five years at Leek, but that it has not yet been possible to arrange regular inspection at Kidsgrove; the time taken to make children dentally fit depends on the extent of the treatment required.

asked the Minister of Health what is the percentage of retired people to the working population in the West Dorset Parliamentary division; how this compares with the national average; what is the highest percentage of retired people in the United Kingdom; and where this situation exists.

I regret that the data from the 1961 Census of Population which is needed to answer the Question will not be available for another few months.

asked the Minister of Health if he will define the expression dentally fit; and to what extent he is prepared to adopt modern dental techniques within the health service in order to fulfil the responsibility of making the patient dentally fit.

Dental fitness is defined in the National Health Service (General Dental Services) Regulations, which I laid before Parliament last month, as:

"such a reasonable standard of dental efficiency and oral health as is necessary to safeguard general health."

Dentists are free to treat their patients by whatever techniques seem to them to be required, subject to the agreement in certain cases of the Dental Estimates Board.

asked the Minister of Health if he is aware of the growing dissatisfaction in the dental profession and that the demand for treatment by dental surgeons exceeds the supply, with the result that the general public believes there is indifference on the part of the profession; and what steps he is taking to encourage recruitment to dental surgery, in view of the fact that it is estimated that four to six times more dentists are needed than are at present available.

More dentists are needed, though nowhere near as many as the hon. Member suggests. The number available is growing and the expansion of the dental schools is going ahead steadily. There is no lack of candidates for them. I believe that the public generally appreciate the energetic response of the profession to the demand for treatment.

asked the Minister of Health, whether he will obtain the patholigist's report, and seek to obtain the West Ham coroner's report, on the death, of Mr. Walter Jarvis of Forest Gate, E.7, in order to make these availabl to the hon. Member for West Ham, North, before Monday, 20th July, 1964.

I understand that the West Ham coroner is sending the hon. Member a copy of the pathologist's report. The coroner himself has made no report.

asked the Minister of Health which areas are now under-doctored; and what is the average size of general practitioners' lists in each of these areas.

There are 201 such areas, out of nearly 2,000, covering about 20 per cent. of the population. I am sending the hon. Member a list, and writing to him about the second part of the Question.

asked the Minister of Health what was the average size of general practitioner lists on the latest date for which figures are available; and what were the comparable figures in each of the previous five years.

2,326 on 1st October, 1963. The comparable figures were:

1st July, 1958	…	…	2,267
1959	…	…	2,282
1960	…	…	2,287
1st October, 1961	…	…	2,292
1962	…	…	2,304

The figures conceal a gradually increasing amount of inflation of doctors' lists by the continued inclusion of names which should no longer be there.

asked the Minister of Health if he will state the average number of applicants for a vacancy for a principal in general practice during the latest year for which figures are available, and the comparable figures for five and 10 years earlier.

13 during the year ended 30th September, 1963; 31 in the calendar year 1958 and 32 in 1953.

asked the Minister of Health how many women patients there are in the Chapel Ward of St. Nicholas Hospital, Gosforth, Newcastle-upon- Tyne; what is the average space between the beds; how many lockers and chairs there are in the ward; where the patients leave their clothes at night; and if he will make a statement on these conditions.

68; 15 inches; no lockers, 2 chairs; on the beds. Chapel Ward is used as a dormitory, the patients spending the day elsewhere. The regional board recognise that improvements are badly needed and has asked the management committee to produce a list of priorities.

asked the Minister of Health what steps have been taken in the Nottingham hospitals to implement the provisions of the Platt Report on the Welfare of Children in Hospital, which relate to the access of mothers to children in hospital and the provision of accommodation in hospital for mother and child.

There have been improvements in visiting hours but hospital authorities need to make further progress towards the aim of unrestricted visiting. Facilities for admission of mothers with their children are generally inadequate at present owing to accommodation difficulties.

asked the Minister of Health why student nurses are excluded from the special duty payments made to certain grades of nurses for Sunday and night work.

Because the Nurses and Midwives Whitley Council have so agreed.

asked the Minister of Health what progress is being made in the preparations for the building of the new St. Helen Hospital, Barnsley; when he now expects building to commence; and what is the estimated period of con struction.

Detailed sketch plans for a substantial part of the work have been completed. Building is now expected to start in 1966. The whole scheme should take about six years to complete.

asked the Minister of Health what is the most recent estimated cost of the building of the new St. Helen Hospital, Barnsley.

About £9 million.

asked the Minister of Health what is the average waiting time for patients at the out-patients' departments of the Nottingham hospitals; and what steps are being taken to obviate lengthy periods of waiting for patients.

Waiting time for an appointment for non-urgent cases varies for different clinics, ranging from two weeks in general medicine to 12 weeks in orthopaedic surgery; waiting time in the clinics also varies; the need for additional sessions is to be considered by the regional hospital board.

asked the Minister of Health whether he intends to implement the salary and wage increase awarded to nurses and midwives.

Yes.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what has been the percentage increase in the headage of livestock, showing cattle, pigs, sheep, and poultry separately, in England and Wales since 1951 and 1961, respectively.

The following is the information:

—	Percentage Change
	June, 1951–June, 1963	June, 1961–June, 1963
Total cattle and calves	+8·9	- 2·3
Total pigs	+76·3	+14·2
Total sheep and lambs	+57·9	+3·1
Total poultry	+41·8	- 0·5

NOTE: Results from the June, 1964, agricultural census will be available very shortly.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he intends to authorise the next cull of grey seals; and what was the cost of the last cull to Her Majesty's Government.

I have decided, in accordance with a recommendation received from the Consultative Committee on Grey Seals and Fisheries and as announced last May, to authorise a further cull of grey seals on the Farne Islands this year.The cost of the last cull, excluding salaries and travelling, was £1,000 approximately.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food why the skins of the last cull of grey seals were given to a commercial firm; and if he will make a statement.

The bodies from the last cull of grey seals were sold for a nominal sum to a commercial firm, on the understanding that it disposed of them. The nominal sum was arranged because of the risks involved through both the firm's inexperience of conditions on the Farne Islands and our own inability to tell it the numbers and types of seals that would be available. This, I estimate, saved the Government between £300 and £400, which it would have cost us to have disposed of the bodies ourselves.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what has been the percentage increase in the value of meat production showing beef, pork, mutton, and poultry separately, in England and Wales since 1951 and 1961, respectively.

Output is valued at farm gate prices and in the case of fatstock the value of production therefore includes more than the value of meat alone, e.g. skin wool and hides. Separate figures for England and Wales are not available for the periods in question. The information for Great Britain, which includes the full value—i.e. fatstock value as defined above—of imported store beasts, is as follows:

PERCENTAGE INCREASES IN 1963–64* COMPARED WITH 1950–51 AND 1960–61 IN THE VALUE† OF FATSTOCK AND TABLE POULTRY PRODUCED ON AGRICULTURAL HOLDINGS IN GREAT BRITAIN
—	June-May years
	1963–64 over 1950–51	1963–64 over 1960–61
Cattle and calves	158	28
Sheep and lambs	110	3
Pigs (including bacon pigs)	90	18
Poultry	237	5
* On the basis of output as forecast at mid-January, 1964.
† Valued at prices current in the years in question.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how much land in the Hamsterley and Wear-dale Forests has been newly planted with trees by the Forestry Commission since 1st January, 1961; how much additional land has been acquired since then; and how it has been treated.

About 440 acres, of which about 70 acres were on felled woodland, have been planted at these forests since 1961. No additional land has been acquired in the area but about 500 acres are under negotiation.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) how many Forestry Commission houses are still without a supply of electricity;(2) how many Forestry Commission houses are still without modern sanitation and bathrooms.

Of the 4,327 houses occupied by Forestry Commission staff, 515 are without a supply of electricity and 261 are without modern sanitation and bathrooms.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what checks were made during the first 10 days in June of the Government stock of imported tinned and other foods; by whom the checks were made; what are the scientific qualifications of the persons who made the checks; if he will state the quality and type of those foods; how many of them were during the last 10 days of June released for human consumption; and for what destinations, respectively, they were released.

Appropriate checks by qualified persons are made continuously on the different items that make up the food stockpile, but I cannot give details of inspections and disposal in the form which the hon. and learned Member asks as it is not in the national interest to disclose the composition of stocks held for emergency purposes.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) when discussions will start between his Department and the new town corporation to ensure that there will be adequate recreational facilities, including youth clubs, in the new town of Redditch;

The Development Corporation has only recently been appointed. It will be for it to discuss the educational and recreational needs of the new town with the local authorities concerned. My Department will no doubt be consulted when firm proposals for adequate facilities to match the town's growth are being considered.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the number of schools, within the framework of the National Health Service, which are available for the treatment of spastic, mongol, and thalidomide children; and what plans he has for an increase in the number of these schools in each of the next three years.

There are in England and Wales 126 boarding and 270 day special schools for the educationally sub-normal—including mongol children suitable for education in school—and 48 boarding and 80 day special schools for the physically handicapped—including children suffering from cerebral palsy and congenital limb deformities such as those due to thalidomide.Building programmes for the three years 1964–67 include 50 new special schools for the educationally sub-normal and 4 for the physically handicapped.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will give the number of new dental schools which have been opened in Great Britain since 1950, and the number of students now studying to become dental surgeons.

One: the new dental school at Cardiff (University of Wales), which will admit pre-clinical students in October this year. The total number of undergraduates in dental colleges in universities in Great Britain is at present 2,866.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what steps he is taking to assist the Kent Education Committee to increase the number of grammar and technical school places in the Maidstone education division.

For the 1965–66 and 1966–67 building programmes the local education authority submitted projects to provide 210 places at the Maidstone Technical High School for Girls and 210 places at the Maidstone Grammar School for Girls. Both of these have been approved. A project for providing 270 places at the former school was included in the 1961–62 programme.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will publish in the Official Report the number of grammar and technical school places per 1,000 children of school age in England and Wales, South-Eastern England, Kent, and the Maidstone education division, respectively.

The information is not available in the form requested by the honourable Member. The following table relates to 13 year old pupils in secondary and all-age schools maintained by local education authorities, as at January, 1963.

	(a)	(b)	(c);
—	Total numbers	Number attending maintained grammar schools per thousand of Column (a)	Number attending maintained technical schools per thousand of Column (a)
England and Wales	631,026	188	26
South Eastern England *	55,413	176	40
Kent (excluding Canterbury)	22,147	158	88
Maidstone Divisional Executive	1,836	139	104
* Kent, Surrey and Sussex (East and West) including County Boroughs.
These figures relate to pupils attending schools maintained by the authorities concerned, irrespective of the areas in which the pupils reside; the figures do not include pupils attending direct grant grammar and independent schools at the expense of local education authorities.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what was the annual value of educational building projects, by category, undertaken in

Projects Started (Value £000)								School Places taken into use
Year	Primary and Secondary	Further Education	Teacher Training	Special Schools	Youth Service	Minor * Works	Total	Primary	Secondary	Total
1954/55	1,167	17	13	35	—	—	1,232	2,760	1,410	4,170
1955/56	1,717	184	—	—	—	—	1,901	1,440	3,325	4,765
1956/57	671	48	—	—	—	—	719	1,880	3,330	5,210
1957/58	798	—	23	71	—	—	892	2,480	4,980	7,460
1958/59	718	136	—	—	—	—	854	1,280	2,940	4,220
1959/60	353	—	—	—	—	222	575	700	2,130	2,830
1960/61	430	—	—	117	—	310	857	240	945	1,185
1961/62	1,169	239	29	—	61	71	1,569	1,240	690	1,930
1962/63	884	123	—	55	40	196	1,298	560	—	560
1963/64	1,118	—	73	—	76	199	1,466	1,600	870	2,470
Total	9,025	747	138	278	177	998	11,363	14,180	20,620	34,800
* Local Education Authority projects only. No figures available for the years prior to 1959/60

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many day training colleges for teachers are at present in operation; what numbers of places are available; and what is now his programme for expanding day colleges over the next three years.

There are now 12 training colleges catering wholly for day students, with some 2,500 students in the academic year now ending. These colleges are planning to increase their aggregate student numbers to about 3,900 under the current training college expansion programme which provides for a total of 80,000 students in training by 1970. I am also exploring the possibility of establishing another day training college in London.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether he will now make a statement on the future rôle of day training colleges and technical training colleges in the provision of extra teachers, and regarding incentives designed to attract mature persons to attend these colleges.

Student numbers in the day training colleges are planned to increase by about 55 per cent. over the next few years, and there will be a substantial Derbyshire in each of the last 10 years; and what was the number of new places so provided in each of these years.

The information is as follows:increase in this year's figure of 7,800 day students attending the mainly residential colleges. As regards the technical training colleges I have at present nothing to add to the Answer given to the hon. Member for Sunderland, North (Mr. Willey) on 16th March. The standard maintenance grants for students including mature persons, are under review by the Standing Advisory Committee on Grants to Students.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department why he has issued guidance that in future the consent of the Director of Public Prosecutions must be obtained before police proceedings are taken in cases of homosexual offences between adults in private premises.

I have issued no guidance on this matter.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he sanctioned the statement by the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police regarding a matter on which Parliamentary Questions were pending; and if he will require the Commissioner to refrain from making such statements in anticipation of Ministers' Answers to Parliamentary Questions.

My right hon. Friend's approval was not required. I understand that the statement was issued the day before the Questions referred to appeared upon the Order Paper, and that the Commissioner of Police was not aware of the Questions when he issued the statement.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department, in view of the fact that the present penalties are failing to deter young offenders who attack and seriously injure police in the performance of their duty, unless magistrates' courts remit such cases to a higher court, whether he will introduce legislation to increase such penalties; and if he will make a statement.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will take steps to increase the maximum penalties for assaults and attacks on police officers by young offenders, such as have recently taken place in the West Midlands.

The penalties for assaults on police have only recently been revised in Section 51 of the Police Act, 1964, which comes into force on 1st August and provides that any person who assaults a constable in the execution of his duty shall be liable, on summary conviction, to up to six months imprisonment or, in the case of a second or subsequent offence, nine months, or to a maximum fine of £100, or both, or, on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for up to two years, or to a fine, or both.Under other statutory provisions the maximum fine that may be imposed by a magistrates court on an offender under 14 is £10 and on an offender under 17 is £50; and courts are precluded from imposing a sentence of imprisonment on an offender under 17 and may not impose such a sentence on an offender between 17 and 21 unless there is no other appropriate method of dealing with him: but appropriate forms of custodial treatment are available for young offenders, depending on their ages.My right hon. Friend considers that these provisions are adequate.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry, Trade and Regional Development if he will name the towns in the Highlands of Scotland into which new industries have been introduced since 1955; and who many new jobs were created as a result.

The information is not readily available. I will write to the hon. Member.

asked the Secretary of State for Industry, Trade and Regional Development whether he will give details of the applications for grant under Section 5 of the Local Employment Act, 1960, which have been made by local authorities in the North-East; and how many they now plan to submit.

The following is the information: