asked the Postmaster-General if he will give an assurance that telephone cables and exchange equipment will be available to keep pace with the expansion of Redditch as a new town.

Yes; Post Office officials maintain close liaison with the Redditch Development Corporation and our plans cater for the expected growth of the telephone system there to keep pace with the expansion of the new town.

asked the Postmaster-General when the Elmbridge telephone exchange will become automatic.

We plan to open the new Elmbridge automatic exchange, with S.T.D. in mid-1966.

That is a little better than I expected, but may I ask the hon. Gentleman whether he is aware that it is a very bad service at present? I have taken deputations to see his predecessor, and have had endless correspondence over the years. Can the hon. Gentlemen expedite it further? What is delaying the installation of an automatic system?

Perhaps the answer which I can now give the hon. Gentleman in reply to his supplementary question will assist him much more. We are starting to install the equipment this month. It will take about 18 months to do this work.

asked the Postmaster-General if he is aware of the social value of telephones for elderly and infirm persons; and what proposals he has for the provision of reduced rental charges for telephones to help old-age pensioners.

As I told the hon. Member for Petersfield (Miss Quennell) on 10th November, I am considering whether the Post Office could help in cases of this kind.

Does the right hon. Gentleman appreciate that his predecessor was investigating the possibility of putting in alarm bells to bring help to old-age pensioners when they were ill or needed special services?

There are a number of specific ideas which I am having considered very actively, and as soon as I am able to report on them I shall do so.

asked the Postmaster-General what steps he is taking to improve the telephone service in the Maidstone area.

I am sorry that the service has been unsatisfactory because of the heavy load on the exchange. It is being extended and the new equipment, which will give S.T.D. facilities, should be in service by the middle of next year.

I am grateful to the hon. Member for that assurance, but most of my constituents would rather have a plain telephone quickly than hang about waiting for an S.T.D. one in the future. May we have an assurance that more lines will be available in the near future?

We are doing all we can to improve the service on behalf of the hon. Member's constituents. As I have mentioned, the new subscriber trunk dialling equipment which we are installing should give a greatly improved service.

asked the Postmaster-General, whether he will give special attention to the overhaul and maintenance of the equipment at the Victoria telephone exchange, in view of the number of misroutings and no pick-up calls in recent weeks.

Yes, Sir. The equipment is being overhauled and the service should improve.

Perhaps it is in order for me to put a supplementary question. Is the Parliamentary Secretary aware that on one morning this week I got three misroutings and three no-tone calls in a quarter of an hour? Is he aware that the Victoria Exchange has been going rapidly downhill ever since the Labour Government came to power, and what is he going to do about it?

May I say to the hon. Gentleman that the weather has not been very good either? The automatic service given by the Victoria Exchange has been unsatisfactory in recent months, so that we may go beyond the period since the Labour Government came into power. About 5 per cent. of dialled calls have been failing, largely as a result of a no-tone or number unobtainable condition. A special investigation into the exchange equipment commenced in August and is still proceeding. Certain parts of the equipment are being reviewed and an improvement in the service is expected in the very near future.

asked the Postmaster-General if he will give an asurance that an adequate number of post offices, sub-post offices and post boxes will be provided to keep pace with the expansion of Redditch as a new town.

Yes, Sir. We have been in touch with the Development Corporation; and we shall continue to keep in touch with it so that the planning of postal facilities can keep pace with the plans for the expansion of Redditch.

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his reply which I think will give comfort to my constituents. At the same time, can he give me a positive assurance that all the equipment and installations will be completed well in advance of the actual completion of the buildings concerned so that there will be no delay in the services which will be so very much required by my constituents?

As the hon. Gentleman will be aware, we cannot, of course, decide where or how many post offices and posting boxes will be required until we have some idea of how the town is to be developed, and the Director of the Midland Region and the local head postmaster will continue to keep in touch with the Development Corporation.

asked the Postmaster-General how many attacks have been made on Post Office workers during the past 12 months; if he is satisfied they get all the protection they need; what new steps he is proposing to take; and if he will make a statement.

During the 12 months ended 30th September, 1964 there were 92 thefts or attempted thefts from Post Office staff in which some degree of violence was either used or threatened. While the present crime rate continues no one could be entirely satisfied with the amount of protection that can be given to staff; but we are constantly reviewing our protective measures to see whether they can be improved and this will continue.

May I ask the hon. Gentleman if the staff have made any representations to the Minister for greater protection, since some of these attacks in rural areas have been of a very brutal character, and do these workers feel that severer punishment would give them greater protection?

There have been discussions with the staff on this matter, and, obviously, they are concerned because of the risks which they run. I should like to express my gratitude to the hon. Gentleman for his continuing interest in this matter.

asked the Postmaster-General if a suitable site has been obtained for the head office of the Post Office Savings Bank in Glasgow; and when he expects the building to be completed.

asked the Postmaster-General whether he will give an assurance that it is still the policy of Her Majesty's Government that the Post Office Savings Bank should be moved to Glasgow; and what steps have been taken to implement the decision of the previous administration.

asked the Postmaster-General if he will make a statement on the progress being made in transferring the Post Office Savings Bank to Glasgow.

I told the House on 10th November that the decision to move the Savings Bank to Glasgow still stands. For a move of this magnitude staff co-operation is indispensable. The first task, which I am tackling personally, is therefore to win the good will of the staff and avert compulsion. I hope that before long it will be possible to make plans for the operation, including choice of an office site, in consultation with them and the City of Glasgow. We are keen to make progress.

While thanking the Minister for his reply, may I ask him whether he will not agree that while we accept that the detailed administration for the transfer, particularly of staff, will take a considerable time, it is difficult to see why a decision on the site for the office in Glasgow cannot be arrived at, particularly when the corporation promised to make a list of sites available? Further, will the Minister not agree that the people of Glasgow are rather concerned that if a decision is not arrived at this year it is somewhat unlikely that the 6, 000 jobs envisaged will be available before 1970?

I appreciate the point which the hon. Gentleman is making and I understand the desire of the people of Glasgow to get this move through as quickly as possible. On the other hand, the Post Office has a very proud record of dispersal with the co-operation of the staff. I think that the hon. Gentleman is as well aware as I am of the difficulties which have arisen in this case. I am very keen to work with and through the staff about the choosing of the site, which is a matter of concern to them, and I am grateful to Glasgow for having made the offer of the many sites. We shall make progress as soon as possible.

Will the Minister consider convening an early conference of representatives of Glasgow Corporation and neighbouring local authorities interested in this project for the purpose of considering practical measures to facilitate the smooth and acceptable transfer of the civil servants from London?

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for that suggestion. The first job is for me to meet the staff, and the wives of the staff involved, personally. I have made an offer to meet them in the first instance.

Is my right hon. Friend aware that he will have the full support of Glasgow in seeking to secure the maximum of good will in this transfer? Does he recollect that last week he said that now a good deal of computerisation—I think that that was the word he used—was involved in the transfer? Would he just make it perfectly clear in what way computerisation should delay the transfer?

In respect of my hon. Friend's first question, I am very grateful for his assurance that the people of Glasgow will make it easy, because it is very important to have good will on both sides. As for the effect of computerisation, the position really is this, that there are 44 million accounts in the Post Office Savings Bank and these are being transferred to computer operation, and to transfer a base, and to alter the basis on which the accounts are kept up to date at the same time, is, to say the least, a difficult operation. That was the only reason I mentioned it.

Nevertheless, is the right hon. Gentleman aware that the vast majority of the Post Office Savings Bank workers very much resent being asked to move out of London as well as out of England, and will he give an assurance that where these people are to suffer a very great upheaval, and offer good and adequate reasons for their staving, they should be given every consideration and offered comparable employment?

It is exactly for that reason that I have offered to meet the staff, and the wives and families if necessary, in order to ease the difficulty. If I may say so, that supplementary question was singularly unhelpful.

Oh.

asked the Postmaster-General if he proposes to continue the policy of the previous Government with regard to the issue of a Burns stamp.

asked the Postmaster-General whether, to mark the 700th anniversary of Parliament in 1965, he will issue stamps to commemorate the event, bearing if possible a picture of Simon de Montfort.

As I said in reply to the hon. Member for Weston-super-Mare (Mr. Webster) on 10th November, I am currently reviewing Post Office policy with regard to the issue of postage stamps, and will make a statement later.

Is the Minister aware that his statement will arouse considerable interest in Scotland? Is he aware of the possibilities of a considerable amount of money coming from the Scots through this stamp? Does he realise that many hundreds of thousands of Scots overseas, who were driven there during the years of the Labour Government—[HON. MEMBERS: "Hear, hear."]—during the thirteen years of Tory Government—will be very glad to get a stamp to show that there has been a change in this country?

Does not the right hon. Gentleman think that the centenary of the sitting of the first Parliament in 1265 in Westminster Hall requires special notice not only in this country but in the whole Commonwealth?

That is one of the points I am considering, but I must point out to the hon. Gentleman that it is now too late to issue a stamp of this kind in January, and such a stamp, if it were agreed that one should be issued as part of the review of stamp policy, would not be able to come out till later in the year.

Would my right hon. Friend bear in mind, when considering the design for a Burns stamp, that Burns was a very enthusiastic volunteer in the Forces, and that if a stamp carries the design of Burns in military uniform it will not only please my hon. Friend the Member for South Ayrshire (Mr. Emrys Hughes) but stimulate recruiting?

Mr. W. Hamilton.

rose—

Order. I have called Mr. Hamilton for the next Question.

asked the Postmaster-General what proposals he has to improve the staffing position at the Harpenden Post Office.

We shall continue with intensive advertising and also with our efforts to recruit staff for Harpenden from other places. Meanwhile, we are trying to arrange some loans from elsewhere in the area where, however, staffing difficulties are fairly general.

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that the service in Harpenden is appalling? They are down to only one delivery a day. In some cases that delivery is at 11.30 a.m., and firms are asked to collect their own mail from the Post Office. Is it enough just to get a few extra postmen from other towns? Cannot the hon. Gentleman do something more definite in view of the scandalous position which exists in Harpenden at the moment?

We are looking closely at all aspects of recruitment to ensure that this service is as efficient as possible, but I am sure the hon. Gentleman will agree that we must be careful to recruit reliable people as postmen.

asked the Postmaster-General what changes he proposes to make to the present system of London postal districts following the creation of the new London boroughs; and when these changes will come into effect.

None, Sir: postal and local government boundaries do not necessarily coincide, and we have no plans for altering the London postal districts when the new London boroughs are set up.

Does the hon. Gentleman seriously intend to continue addressing half my constituency as "Morden, Surrey", which is not in Surrey? Does he intend to perpetuate the existence of Middlesex which is being done away with?

The existing postal boundaries are designed to give good postal services at reasonable cost. To do what the hon. Gentleman has in mind would mean additional expense for the Post Office and a change of address for many people without compensating advantages in their postal services.

Will the hon. Gentleman note that the residents of Twickenham are content to go on being addressed as "Twickenham, Middlesex"?

asked the Postmaster-General if he will now re-establish the sub-post office in Banbury's market place.

I have carefully considered this matter but I am sorry that we should not be justified in reestablishing the sub-post office. But, when the proposals for the redevelopment of the central area of Banbury mature, we shall, of course, review the need for post offices in the area generally.

Nevertheless, as this redevelopment plan will inevitably come, will the hon. Gentleman in the mean- time realise that Banbury is very much an expanding town, and that it causes great inconvenience to my constituents to have to walk a long way up town to the only post office? Will he give an assurance that he will personally look at this question again?

I understand the hon. Gentleman being concerned about this, but the sub-post office has been closed for three and a half years and the evidence that we have had does not suggest that our customers have been seriously inconvenienced.

I realise that, and for three and a half years I have been pressing to get this sub-post office opened. Nevertheless, will the hon. Gentleman answer my question and give an assurance that he personally will look at this question again?

I have no objection to having a look at this again, but we do not normally provide a post office in an urban area within a mile of an existing office.

asked the Postmaster General what action he is taking to improve the parcel services in the West Midlands.

I am sorry that some parcels to and from the West Midlands are being delayed. These delays are due in the main to shortages of postal staff at Birmingham and some other large offices. We are doing our best to recruit staff but there is intense competition for labour in the areas concerned.

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that there is a large concentration of mail order houses and similar organisations in the West Midlands, and that many of these firms are contemplating going over to their own C licence vehicles rather than use Post Office services? Is the hon. Gentleman further aware that one of the excuses offered by the Post Office has been the reconstruction of New Street Station? Will he look into alternative ways of coping with the problem which might ease the immediate difficulties?

We are always seeking to look at alternative ways for the distribution of our postal services, in addition to our efforts to recruit more staff and thus reduce the delays which occur at certain offices. British Railways, who handle the parcel mails at stations, are actively engaged in tightening up and improving their arrangements to give parcel mail a speedier transit. I am aware that efficient postal services are vital to the well-being of industry and of the community at large.

asked the Postmaster-General, what proportion of telegraph poles is of home-grown timber; and whether he will revise the specification to enable a larger proportion of homegrown poles to qualify.

About one-eighth of the poles purchased in the last five years were of home-grown timber. We gladly take all the home-grown poles we can get, and our standards for them are already much less exacting than those for imported poles. I am advised that to lower the standards further would involve undue risks of danger to staff and public and shortening of the physical life of the poles.

I thank the hon. Member for that reply, but is not there scope here both for saving imports and encouraging our own forestry industry? Will he look at the specification in force in other European countries? My impression is that it is a great deal lower than in this country.

We seek competitive tenders for all our poles, and if the prices quoted for imported poles are lower than those for home-grown poles we normally offer the home growers contracts for the maximum number they can supply at prices equivalent to those quoted for imported poles. In practice, the prices that we pay for home-grown and imported poles are substantially the same.

Will the Minister try to take other steps to improve this proportion, particularly in view of the fact that the amount of maturing home-grown timber is increasing, especially from the woodlands of the Forestry Commission itself?

It might be for the benefit of the House and for hon. Members who are interested in this question if I circulated in the OFFICIAL REPORT figures concerning the number of imported poles and United Kingdom poles. This might give some of the information that the hon. Member requires.

asked the Postmaster-General why a letter postmarked Fare-ham 8.15 p.m., 5th November, 1964, whose cover has been sent to him, was not delivered on the next day to the addressees in Piccadilly; and at what time before 9 a.m. on Monday, 9th November, when it was received by those addressees, it was in fact delivered.

This letter should have been delivered on Friday, the day after posting, and I am sorry that because of shortage of staff in London it was not. I understand that the premises to which it was addressed are normally unoccupied on Saturday, and, as there is no letter box, it seems likely that the letter was delivered around 8.30 a.m. on Monday, 9th November.

I am glad to accept the hon. Gentleman's apology for this lapse on the part of his Department, but does he realise that a failure such as this at the beginning of the weekend means that a letter of some urgency takes 84 hours to travel 76 miles, which is not a very clever ratio for a 1964 economy?

It is only fair to point out that of the millions of letters which are posted each day the vast majority are delivered first thing next morning.

Will the hon. Gentleman bear in mind that letters from my part of Hampshire are the subject of complaints by a number of my constituents, which I am passing to him at present? Will he look into the apparent dissociation between Hampshire and London in the matter of postal services?

Perhaps the hon. Gentleman will let me have particulars about that, apart from the case he has mentioned. I can then look into it.

asked the Postmaster-General what was the profit from telecommunications for the year ended March, 1964, and what profit is forecast for the following year; what was the loss on the postal services for the year ended March, 1964, and what result is forecast for the following year; what increase in wages and salaries will occur during the year; and what the recent wages award to postmen will cost in a full year.

asked the Postmaster-General how much of the projected loss in the postal services is due to the increased wages award for Post Office workers announced by the last Government.

asked the Postmaster-General what was the profit of the Post Office for last year; what is his estimate of outturn for this year; how much of this profit was made on telecommunications services; and what contribution is being made to the Exchequer.

In the financial year ending March, 1964, the profit from telecommunications was £39 million; the loss on postal services was £8 million. Estimates for the current year show a profit on telecommunications of £34 million; a loss on postal services of £16 million. The recent wages award to postmen will cost £6·7 million in a full year. I cannot yet say what, if any, other increases will be agreed in the current year. The payments to the Exchequer under Section 2 of the 1961 Post Office Act in lieu of taxation amounted to £·.7 million in 1963–64.

Would not the right hon. Gentleman agree, however, that the loss on the postal services in the year 1963–64 was less than in 1962–63 and that the difficulties in which he now finds himself are largely, if not entirely, due to the substantial wage award made to postmen? Would he bear that in mind?

I am afraid that the hon. Gentleman has got this wrong. The postal services have accumulated a growing deficit. The estimates for this deficit show a likelihood of it growing still further without regard to this particular increase, and that is the problem which confronts the House and the Government.

Will the right hon. Gentleman now admit that the other day when he announced in the House the losses on the postal services he was really being too clever by about 6 per cent., because he must have known, and must make clear, that although we accept that wage increases come, the public has to be made to understand that when wage increases are made they have to be paid for?

The estimates about the future profitability and financial return of postal services to meet the target of 8 per cent. laid down by the previous Government revealed a shortfall of exactly the kind that I described, of the exact size that I described, last week. Any further questions about what happened last summer should be addressed elsewhere—

Oh.

Would the right hon. Gentleman say whether the 3d. post is running at a profit or a loss?

That is the subject of another Question.

asked the Postmaster-General if he will now allow the British Broadcasting Corporation to establish a series of local broadcasting stations.

I am looking into this whole question and will make a statement later.

Can my right hon. Friend say whether he has had discussions with the B.B.C. and other people concerned with this matter since he took office? Can he give us some idea of the time-scale he has in mind? Does he realise the high degree of urgency in this highly imaginative programme which the B.B.C. has in mind?

I have had an opportunity of a first informal talk with the Chairman and Director-General of the B.B.C. and a number of subjects were discussed, including this one, but I am afraid I am not in a position to make a statement, though I appreciate the need for urgency in this matter.

Would the right hon. Gentleman bear in mind that there are a lot of people who would not wish to see the B.B.C. licence fee increased as a result of activity in this field? Perhaps he would consider, in all fairness, whether some of these stations might not be supplied by local authorities, by universities, or by commercial interests—[Horn. MEMBERS: "No"]—in view of the costs, so that there should be no additional cost to licence holders?

That really raises quite a separate question. The Question was whether the B.B.C. should be allowed to establish a series of local broadcasting stations. If the hon. Member would like to put down another Question on this I would do my best to answer it.

asked the Postmaster-General if he will establish a viewers' council to advise on the suitability of television programmes; and if he will make a statement.

No, Sir. Programme content is the responsibility of the Board of Governors of the B.B.C. and members of the I.T.A. The establishment by me of a viewer's council would tend to diminish the authority of the two broadcasting authorities and, in consequence, their capacity to discharge their responsibility. Also, it would raise doubt as to where responsibility lay: with the broadcasting authorities, or with the council. Each anthority has already its own General Advisory Council, and other advisory committees, through which it can sound opinion on its services.

Yes, but is the Minister aware that these so-called advisory councils have in no way halted the growth of suggestive entertainment and of the glorification of thuggery in television, or the unsuitability of programmes at school holiday times? Would he not agree that it would be far more effective if we established a council from a very good cross-section of the British community to advise these organisations and my right hon. Friend's good self on television presentations?

No, Sir. The fact that an advisory council does not give advice of the kind the hon. Gentleman would like it to give is not a prima facie case for setting up another advisory committee.

Would it not be advisable if the right hon. Gentleman were to look a little closer at some of the programmes which are broadcast on television? Has he, for instance, seen the reputed successor to TW3? Does he realise that some of that programme is in extremely bad taste and in some cases is almost blasphemous, and that in an incident last week—

Speech.

Order. This supplementary question is getting a little long.

Too long.

I think that the hon. Gentleman had better think this through to its logical conclusion. There are reserve powers invested in the Postmaster-General. If they are to be exercised by the Postmaster-General that means that whoever occupies my office would have the power, on the hon. Gentleman's suggestion, to censor individual progratmmes if he thought, in his judgment, for it could not be anyone else's judgment, that they were offensive to taste, or biased politically. If I were to exercise my judgment in censoring a programme which I thought politically biased or offensive, one of the first people, I think, who would object would be the hon. Gentleman himself, for our views would not coincide.

Would not my right hon. Friend agree to discuss with the broadcasting authorities whether or not a more scientific method could be arranged to decide what the public really think ought to be improved, in view of the large amount of violence which appears on television and the increasing rate of violent crime? I do think that a more scientific method ought to be devised, rather than one which depends on hundreds of viewers having to telephone the B.B.C. to object.

I very well appreciate my hon. Friend's point. Of course, each of us, as individuals, has views—I have—but it is open to all of us now to make any representation direct to the B.B.C., and this is a perfectly proper thing to be done, and is done by hon. Members, and is part of the general accountability of the B.B.C. to the public which it serves.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that part of this difficulty arises from the fact that the Scottish programmes have got to take some of the London service, and that standards do differ in some respects, and that, therefore, there should be control in London of programmes which are sent to Scotland, and which are unacceptable to the Scottish way of life?

I recognise that there are difficulties of this kind, but the more difficulties the hon. Lady raises the more impossible does it become for the Postmaster-General to agree to intervene, in view of the regional difficulties which she mentions.

asked the Postmaster-General what steps he proposes to take to achieve the early establishment of a colour television service in this country.

This is one of a number of questions which the Government have to study in reviewing broadcasting policy generally, and on which its conclusions will be announced as soon as they are reached.

Can the right hon. Gentleman say whether the hints which appeared in the Press this morning that the Government intend to hold up the introduction of colour television are true, and whether he had a hand in inspiring these rumours? Is the Postmaster-General aware that we had undertaken, if we had won the General Election, to introduce colour television at least by 1967? In those circumstances, will he look at the matter again, because if there is ally holdup it will be a severe blow to the electronics industry?

I have had some opportunity of assessing the value of hon. Gentlemen's election pledges in my own Department. In view of the rising deficit that would confront the B.B.C., I very strongly doubt whether it would have been possible to have done that. The answer that I have given is the correct one. We are reviewing this. The standards are being studied in April, and we hope that a decision will be reached in April. After that it is a question of what degree of priority we give to this as against other possible demands on our resources in broadcasting.

asked the Postmaster-General whether he is aware of the unsatisfactory television reception in Ferrybridge and district; and whether he will take the necessary action to improve the situation.

Reception of both the B.B.C.'s and the I.T.A.'s television services should normally be good in Ferrybridge and district if suitable receiving aerials are used; but if my hon. Friend has any particular case in mind and will write to us about it, we will gladly have it investigated.

But I understand that a number of my constituents have sent a petition to the hon. Gentleman's Department, and the purpose of my Question was to stimulate a reply to that petition. Is it impossible to get a local booster station which would help the reception of television in this area?

I am not aware of any petition that has been sent to my Department in regard to the matter mentioned in the Question, but both the B.B.C. and the I.T.A. say that Ferrybridge and district receive a satisfactory signal from their stations at Holme Moss and Emley Moor. The Post Office North-East Region confirms this and says that it has had no recent complaints.

asked the Postmaster-General if he will now make a statement on the provision of a low-power television station to serve West Dunbartonshire.

No, Sir. I would ask my hon. Friend to await the announcement, which my right hon. Friend expects to make shortly, about the B.B.C.'s plans for improving television reception and coverage.

Is my hon. Friend aware that this is the same disappointing and unsatisfactory reply that I have been receiving over the years, and that I had hoped for a little more encouragement? Is he aware that many of my constituents will take a very dim view of further extensions to existing channels while they are still unable to receive programmes from one channel?

I am very sorry that I have to give such a disappointing reply to my hon. Friend, but I think that it would be generally agreed that the right course is to present the plan as a whole. My hon. Friend will realise that there are some places which have no service at all, which have first to be considered.

asked the Postmaster-General if he will use his powers under Section 14(4) of the Licence and Agreement to direct the British Broadcasting Corporation to refrain in future from sending the Royal Command Variety Performance on the evening of Armistice Sunday.

asked the Postmaster-General if he will use his powers under Section 14(4) of the Licence and Agreement to prevent the broadcasting of programmes similar to the British Broad-casting Corporation's television farming programme of 8th November, 1964.

No, Sir.

Is not the Minister aware that through the excellent efforts of the British Legion in many towns and cities on Armistice evening these festivals are held in order to commemorate the names of those who died that we might live? Is it not a cynical disregard of the feelings of relatives that such a star attraction should be presented on Armistice evening, especially when it could be presented on one of the other 364 evenings of the year, reserving Armistice evening for more appropriate material? Will he consider this question and realise the feelings of those left behind?

No, Sir, I will not, for the reason that I gave earlier, namely, that if I were to accept responsibility for this it would become my duty—for which I would become increasingly responsible to the House—to observe every single piece of programme planning on all three television and all three sound programmes in order to satisfy myself that it did not clash with any other attraction of the kind that my hon. Friend has mentioned. Such a task would be totally impossible and totally unacceptable to Ministers of either party. I hope that hon. Members will not continue to table Questions of this kind—[Interruption.]—to which there can be only one answer.

Is the right hon. Gentleman completely disclaiming any responsibility at all for the good or bad taste of broadcast programmes?

The hon. Member must understand that the principles embodied in the Answers that I have given have been accepted by the whole House and all Governments since broadcasting began, namely, that whereas reserve powers are vested in the Postmaster-General, for reasons which the House laid down in Act of Parliament, he does not exercise them for the purposes for which these Questions have been tabled. It is in order for any hon. Member to put down a Question—[HON. MEMBERS: "Hear, hear."]—but the Answer which I will give, and which has been given by successive Postmasters-General, quite rightly in my submission, will follow the pattern that I have given in reply to the hon. Member and my hon. Friend.

Although we understand perfectly well that the Postmaster-General is not expected to take up censorship powers, nevertheless, when he is convinced that there is a very strong body of opinion, especially in this House, with definite views on a subject, cannot he himself make representations?

No, Sir. I will not make representations on behalf of hon. Members, since Members of this House can make representations as individuals, or pass a Resolution which can be drawn to the attention of the B.B.C.

If the right hon. Gentleman is not going to censor broadcast programmes, will he also undertake not to try to censor Questions by hon. Members?

As the right hon. and learned Gentleman knows very well, I make no attempt to censor Questions. [HON. MEMBERS: "Yes."] What I said was that Questions which were put down asking me to use my powers to censor B.B.C. and I.T.A. programmes would meet with the same response, and I asked hon. Members not to put down Questions in the hope that I would vary that decision. This principle has been accepted by the right hon. and learned Gentleman's colleagues, as well as by my colleagues, for a long period, and it is one from which he himself would not for a moment dissent.

May I ask my right hon. Friend to understand that we thoroughly understood what he meant? May I further ask him not to pay the slightest attention to "bonkers" from the other side?

asked the Postmaster-General what degree of priority he is giving to providing wireless and television services to those areas of the country not yet adequately covered.

It is, of course, for the broadcasting authorities in the first place to consider what measures to take in order to improve the reception and extend the coverage of their services. As I said earlier, I am at present considering proposals the B.B.C. has put to me; and I hope to make an announcement soon.

Does the Minister realise that, though the percentage of people who do not get any service or do not get an adequate service may be small, the frustration increases as the number declines and that these are all areas in which we are having difficulty in persuading people to stay in the rural districts? Is the Minister also aware that in many parts of my constituency people can listen only to Radio Caroline and that I hope he will see that the B.B.C. keeps up with private enterprise?

The right hon. Gentleman has taken a continuing interest in this subject in the past and the view he expresses is very much shared by the B.B.C. and by the Department for which I am responsible.

asked the Prime Minister if he is aware of the damage which the recent court decision in the cases of Rookes v. Barnard and Stratford v. Lindley has caused to the interests of workers who are trade unionists; and if he will state his plans to minimise or rectify that damage.

We have undertaken to introduce during this Session a Bill to give workers and their representatives the protection necessary for freedom of industrial negotiation.

Does the Prime Minister realise that the problems presented by these decisions are of the utmost importance to trade unionists and will he see that solutions are expedited?

Yes, Sir. We have made clear that a Bill will be introduced in the House and will be debated.

Before the Prime Minister redeems his pledge, will he consider whether he is quite certain that it is right to give trade union leaders the right to force people out of employment under the protection of the law?

Perhaps the hon. Gentleman will study what I said in a speech to the T.U.C. on this question. I said that we were concerned with putting right that aspect of the law which was never thought to have been in doubt 60 years ago. I said that we did not intend to raise any fundamental question of human rights in dealing with it.

asked the Prime Minister why he has not appointed the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance to the Cabinet.

As I said in my speech in the House on 3rd November, my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, who is of course a member of the Cabinet, will among other duties assigned to him have the task of co-ordinating the work of the social services. In addition, my right hon. Friend the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance will, of course, attend meetings of the Cabinet whenever the affairs of her Department are under consideration, in accordance with the usual practice.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that the direct consequences of some of his financial policies have led to a steep rise in the cost of living? Is he aware that pensioners, whose No. 1 economic priority is stability in prices, would believe that the Prime Minister had that much more in his heart if he appointed the Minister of Pensions to the Cabinet?

I am aware that we have taken early action regarding legislation to deal with the problem of old-age pensioners. Secondly, I am aware that in the whole period of the Conservative Government the only Minister of Pensions and National Insurance who was in the Cabinet was Mr. Osbert Peake, now, I believe, Lord Ingleby, who was a member of the Cabinet for only a few months.

asked the Prime Minister what reply he has had from the Prime Minister of Rhodesia to his invitation to visit London for talks.

Mr. Smith said on 24th October that he would be pleased to visit London for discussions after the referendum which took place on 5th November. Since then he has made no further mention of such a visit, but on 6th November in a message he made public, he invited my right hon. Friend the Commonwealth Secretary to visit Salisbury. Nevertheless the invitation to Mr. Smith to come to London remains open, as I again made clear in my published message to him of 7th November.

Now that Mr. Nkomo is no longer in prison, will the right hon. Gentleman reconsider sending the Secretary of State to Rhodesia? Would not he agree that a meeting of Prime Ministers might be dangerous until such time as the Rhodesian electorate is convinced that the policy of Her Majesty's Government is not to impose an African majority in the next two or three years?

It is partly a question of what is meant by "Rhodesian electorate". Apart from that, I think it would be extremely valuable if there could be discussions with Mr. Smith, because the right hon. Gentleman my predecessor had very frank discussions with him and I had a brief meeting with him in September. I think it would be helpful if Mr. Smith could come over on the basis I indicated in my speech of 3rd November, when the whole thing could be discussed very frankly between us.

In order to remove ambiguity both here and in Central Africa, could the right hon. Gentleman state quite clearly the terms and conditions under which Her Majesty's Government would grant independence to Rhodesia?

I thought that that was very clearly stated without ambiguity in the communiqué of the Conference of Commonwealth Prime Ministers. As I said on 3rd November, that statement in the communiqué was the basis of our approach to this problem.

Is it not most undesirable that communiqués between two Government should constantly be in public? Should we not get back to confidential negotiations and communications?

I very much agree with the hon. Gentleman about that. I am glad to say that in the latest messages which we have had both ways, Mr. Smith has said that they should be treated confidentially, and we are both doing that. But I think that the hon. Gentleman will agree that it was important that full publicity should have been given to the statement, which was put out and which was not meant as a confidential communication between Governments, warning everyone concerned of the consequences of a unilateral declaration of independence.

When my right hon. Friend speaks of the invitation to Mr. Smith remaining open, is it the position that the Prime Minister has intimated to Mr. Smith that he desires him to come to this country for conversations, or has that been left as a matter of inference and implication from Questions and Answers in the House?

This is not a question of inference. It has been stated quite categorically and communicated to Mr. Smith.

asked the Prime Minister how the recent vacancy for Chief Press Officer at No. 10, Downing Street arose; and whether the vacancy was made known to other suitable candidates.

I appointed the man whom I thought could give me the best service in this post, which had been vacant, though covered by temporary arrangements, since February.

Can the Prime Minister say what post is now being filled by the former Chief Press Officer? Can the right hon. Gentleman confirm that the normal procedures were followed at every stage of this change-over of Chief Press Officer?

To answer the second point first, the normal procedures were followed. I think that it has been long understood that the position of what used to be called Public Relations Adviser to the Prime Minister has been filled on a direct basis by the Prime Minister in terms of who he thought would do the job best. The new Chief Press Officer's predecessor, who held the position temporarily, has now gone to the Ministry of Economic Affairs. The right hon. Gentleman the Leader of the Opposition made it quite clear when the previous appointment was made that it was temporary and would have to be considered again after the election.

asked the Prime Minister what functions the Department of Technology has taken over from the Ministry of Education and Science, the Lord President of the Council, the Board of Trade, the Treasury and the Ministry of Aviation, respectively; and whether he will make a statement.

I cannot as yet go beyond the information already given to the House by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education and Science on 5th November. I hope that a further statement will be made shortly.

Does the Prime Minister realise that this is causing a great deal of uncertainty and dissatisfaction to research workers in universities, industry and Government Departments and that I hope that a speedy statement will be made?

No, Sir, I am not so aware, but a lot of work is going on on this question which, it will be realised, has been the subject of considerable thought and argument and disagreement over the past two or three years. But only three weeks ago we were being told that some of the workers in these industries thought that decisions were being taken too quickly. We are trying to establish a happy medium between moving too quickly and moving too slowly.

Sir Knox Cunningham—

Could the right hon. Gentleman tell us when we shall see—

Order. It would assist the Chair in carrying out a difficult job if Front Benchers, like back benchers, did not speak until they were called. Sir Knox Cunningham.

Can the Prime Minister say whether the new Minister of Technology will deal with the new process of automation in shaving?

I should be glad to answer the question, but I did not hear the last two words of what the hon. Gentleman said.

I asked the right hon. Gentleman if he could say whether the new Minister of Technology would deal with the new process of automation in shaving?

Can the Prime Minister tell us when the Minister of Technology will be with us in the House?

I should think that the period of delay will be rather comparable to that which we all suffered so greatly a year ago when we were waiting for the right hon. and learned Gentleman.

Will the right hon. Gentleman recall the somewhat offensive observations then made from the Opposition benches about the arrangements, and will he accept my assurance that they will not be repeated on this occasion?

asked the Prime Minister what steps he has taken to ensure that the persons who have been engaged in an advisory capacity to assist him or other Ministers or Departments have been informed that they are subject to the Official Secrets Act and to all the instructions as to official behaviour which apply to established civil servants.

It is the duty of Departments to bring the provisions of the Official Secrets Acts to the notice of their staffs, both established and temporary, and new entrants are required to sign, on entry, a declaration acknowledging that this has been done. Departments are also responsible for informing their staff of the instructions governing the conduct of civil servants. This action has been taken in the case of the persons referred to in the hon. Member's Question.

Can the Prime Minister say what steps he personally has taken to satisfy himself on the security aspects of these appointments, bearing in mind the great interest which he has always taken in security matters and also the unfortunate experience of the last Socialist Government with a foreign-born atomic scientist?

The last Government of this country, which was not a Socialist one, also had a number of very distinguished foreign-born advisers and no problem arose. I am quite sure that hon. Members opposite had the fullest confidence in those persons, one of whom has now been reallocated in an advisory capacity in the Cabinet Office. But I very much deprecate some of the statements made, whether in the form of Question at Question Time or in speeches, reflecting on the loyalty of some advisers in respect of whom the security proceedings could not have been more thorough and who have been British nationals for a very long time and have given very good service to this country.

asked the Prime Minister whether the general regulations of the Civil Service Commissioners on nationality requirements were satisfied in the case of the appointments of Mr. T. Balogh, Professor P. Blacken, Mr. H. F. R. Catherwood, Dr. N. Kaldor and Mr. R. Neild; or whether their appointments as temporary civil servants have been made at the discretion of the Departments to which they are attached.

Although these are temporary appointments, the requirements of the nationality rule are met.

In view of the fact that there is a new regulation, within these regulations covering entrants to the Foreign Office, coming into operation on 1st January, 1965, which was circulated with an Answer in the OFFICIAL REPORT, may I ask the right hon. Gentleman whether he can now give me an assurance that if any new regulations are brought into operation the House will be informed? I had no assurance in answer to the speech which I made in the House last week.

I made it clear that the existing regulations are being most stringently followed in every case and the most thorough inquiries are made. As and when new regulations are introduced, they will be followed in all cases.

In view of the new regulation, which was not reported to the House until I put down a Parliamentary Question, may I ask whether the right hon. Gentleman will kindly give me an assurance about any new regulations—[HON. MEMBERS: "Oh."]—I am not making any allegation[HON. MEMBERS: "Yes."]—I am merely asking about the procedure. Will the Prime Minister give me an assurance that when new regulations, such as the one circulated in HANSARD, are brought into operation, the House of Commons will be informed without a private backbencher having to ask a Question?

Yes, Sir. Whenever it is appropriate, this will be done, but I think that the hon. Lady will realise that the security services have to operate a very large number of regulations and practices which have never been announced to the House by any previous Government.

Would not my right hon. Friend agree that during the period of office of successive Tory Governments which we had before he formed his Administration, security procedure has been applied by right hon. and hon. Members opposite in such a way that very small and insignificant people have been ruined and dismissed from the public service and not a word in their defence was said by hon. Members opposite? Yet would not my right hon. Friend agree that at the same time there were most serious breaches of security at a very high level?

These are very difficult subjects, as the whole House recognises, and in the last Parliament we probably spent more time debating security than any of us wanted to. But I think that it is fair to say that there were one or two cases under the recent Government—one a fairly recent one—where there appeared to be a very strict application of a rule in respect of a young woman employee which, when brought to the attention of the Minister concerned, was dealt with in a humane way by the exercise of that Minister's discretion. That is what we have to do in respect of all these appointments.