asked the Minister of Health what changes in the plans for the rebuilding of St. Thomas's Hospital have taken place since the model was exhibited in the Palace of Westminster; and whether he will exhibit a model of the revised building before any further building takes place.

I have not yet anything to add to the reply which I gave to the hon. Member on 8th February, 1965.

asked the Minister of Health whether he will endeavour to ensure in all possible cases in future the treatment of adolescent psychiatric patients in conditions where they are separated from adult patients.

Hospital Boards have been advised that, in general, separate units are needed for the treatment of mentally disturbed adolescents but that some may suitably be treated in adult wards.

asked the Minister of Health when the new maternity hospital on the Northgate site will be completed; and what plans he has for an immediate increase in the maternity beds at Lowestoft.

As early as possible in 1968; the Regional Hospital Board hope that additional maternity beds will then be provided at Lowestoft by the reallocation of existing accommodation there.

asked the Minister of Health whether he obtains for hospitals the same favourable terms in fuel oil contract prices as the Ministry of Public Building and Works for the establishments for which he is responsible.

There is no central contract for supply of fuel oil to hospitals. Some hospital authorities obtain their supplies from Ministry of Public Building and Works contracts: other find it advantageous to purchase under joint contracts for a number of authorities. The arrangements are under review.

asked the Minister of Health whether he is aware of the concern caused by the departure of the consultant orthopaedic surgeon for the towns of Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth; and what additional help he proposes to give in finding a replacement.

I am sorry but I cannot add anything to the Answer I gave the hon. Member on 14th May.

asked the Minister of Health whether, in view of the need to improve the existing arrangements for the transfer of hospital patients to hospitals nearer their homes, he will consider the introduction of a central register.

I am not satisfied that a central register would improve the present arrangements.

asked the Minister of Health if he will give comparative figures of waiting lists for consultative and surgical admission to hospitals in Monmouthshire now, and in 1948; and if he will make a statement.

Seven non-surgical and 5,497 surgical at the end of March. Comparable figures for 1948 are not available but the figures for the end of 1949 were 96 non-surgical and 6,457 surgical.

asked the Minister of Health what steps he proposes to take to ease the six-month waiting list for priority cases in the child psychiatry department of Booth Hall Hospital, Manchester; and whether he will now review the whole field of child and adolescent psychiatric facilities within the area of the Manchester Regional Hospital Board.

Information about plans for increasing the psychiatric facilities in the Manchester region for children and adolescents was included in my Answer to the noble Lord the Member for Hertford (Lord Balniel) on 29th June to which I would refer my hon. Friend.

asked the Minister of Health what would have been the additional cost involved in building the new hospital for the mentally-retarded near to the present hospital at Oulton, instead of on the site near Stanley Royal Hospital.

I regret the information is not available.

asked the Minister of Health when he expects a cervical cancer screening service to be available for all women at risk.

I cannot predict this at present but returns from hospital boards show that good progress continues to be made.

asked the Minister of Health when he expects the new General Hospital in Kingston upon Hull to be completed; and what plans are proposed for pay bed accommodation in this hospital.

The Leeds Regional Hospital Board hope for completion about the end of May; the Board's proposal for 20 pay beds at this hospital has only just been received.

asked the Minister of Health whether he will give an assurance that no hospital at present administered by regional hospital boards will be transferred to the administration of governors of teaching hospitals groups before the House of Commons has been able to debate the matter.

I have already informed the House, in reply to a Question on 17th May from my hon. Friend the Member for Willesden, West (Mr. Pavitt), of my decision in relation to London, that further designations of non-teaching hospitals as parts of teaching hospital groups are right in principle when they will improve hospital services in the area and conform with the responsibility of boards of governors for clinical teaching.

asked the Minister of Health if he is aware of congestion along the route from Sutton Bridge to King's Lynn; and what action he intends to take to minimise the dangers arising from consequent delays to hospital traffic.

I am aware of this traffic congestion, which, as indicated in answer to the Question of my hon. Friend the Member for King's Lynn on 5th July, my right hon. Friend the Minister of Transport will take into account when considering the next extension of the trunk road programme.

asked the Minister of Health whether the 70 additional beds to be provided for mentally ill patients at St. Thomas's Hospital will be solely for adolescents.

The intention is to provide 70 beds for the treatment of adults and adolescents aged sixteen and upwards and to design the accommodation so that patients may be separated by age, sex and condition as appropriate. I regret that this was not stated in my reply to the noble Lord's Question on 29th June.

asked the Minister of Health if he will modify the design of his Department's invalid tricycle in the light of the criticisms sent to him by the right hon. Member for Sutton Cold-field.

The design of the invalid tricycle is continually under review and my right hon. Friend takes note of all criticisms that are sent to him.

asked the Minister of Health why he declines to recognise, for the purpose of supplying motor cars for the disabled, a retired and disabled colonel who, although a member of a Commonwealth Army, was bombed whilst serving with the British Army.

The colonel receives his war pension from the Government of South Africa and is not entitled to any benefits under the Royal Warrant, under which cars are supplied to certain war pensioners.

asked the Minister of Health whether he will introduce amending legislation to ensure that the criterion as to whether a student shall be called upon to pay dental charges shall be whether the student is earning, or is in receipt of full-time education or dependent upon a grant, and not whether the student has reached the age of 21 years.

No. Exemption from charges is related to need for dental treatment, which is greatest up to the age of 21 years.

asked the Minister of Health what is his policy regarding the use of irradiation for the sterilisation of imported boneless meat.

With my right hon. Friends the Secretary of State for Scotland and the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, I am now considering, in the light of the comments received from interested organisations, what action should be taken on the recommendations of the Working Party on the Irradiation of Food.

asked the Minister of Health what steps he has taken, and plans to take, to implement the recommendations in the Cohen Report on Epilepsy.

I cannot add to the reply which I gave on 29th March to my hon. Friend the Member for Wandsworth, Central (Dr. David Kerr).

asked the Minister of Health what steps he is taking to improve the National Health Service negotiating machinery.

I am keeping under general review the working of the Whitley Councils, which I have already discussed with representatives of the Staff Sides.

asked the Minister of Health if, in view of the known connection between cigarette smoking and lung cancer and the growing public awareness of the dangers of cigarette smoking, he will seek powers to ban cigarette vending machines from public places where children have easy access to their contents.

There are powers in Section 7(2) of the Children and Young Pesons Act, 1933, for courts to order the removal of a machine which is extensively used by children under sixteen.

asked the Minister of Health whether he will now make a statement on the issue of two-seater cars in place of tricycles for National Health Service patients.

asked the Minister of Health when he expects to have fully implemented the extensions made in 1964 to the arrangements for the provision of two-seater cars in place of invalid tricycles for the use of seriously disabled National Health Service patients.

I would refer the hon. Members to the Answer my right hon. Friend gave to my hon. Friends the Members for Glasgow, Kelvingrove (Dr. Miller), St. Helens (Mr. Spriggs), and Liverpool, Walton (Mr. Heffer) and the hon. Member for Banbury (Mr. Marten) on 29th March.

asked the Minister of Health what evidence he has of an increase in the number of prescriptions issued in the Carlisle area, consequent on the removal of prescription charges.

Variations in numbers of prescriptions are affected by many influences. However, I give below

PRESCRIPTIONS DISPENSED BY CHEMISTS IN CARLISLE
Year				February	March	April	Totals February, March and April	Percentage change over corresponding period of previous year
1957	…	…	…	30,015	33,708	28,538	92,261	—
1958	…	…	…	29,251	32,245	30,233	91,729	- 0·6
1959	…	…	…	40,793	37,217	31,584	109,594	+ 19·5
1960	…	…	…	34,978	36,004	33,178	104,160	- 5·0
1961	…	…	…	42,738	30,740	27,647	101,125	- 2·9
1962	…	…	…	29,342	34,248	28,516	92,106	- 8·9
1963	…	…	…	33,446	37,778	31,147	102,371	+ 11·1
1964	…	…	…	32,627	33,371	32,204	98,202	- 4·1
1965	…	…	…	37,875	41,224	37,618	116,717	+ 18·9

asked the Minister of Health if he will take action to improve the hygienic conditions involved in the distribution of meat between wholesaler and retailer.

Local authorities are responsible for ensuring that the requirements of the Food Hygiene (General) Reguations 1960 are observed. If my hon. Friend will provide details of any case that has come to his notice where he thinks improvement is called for, I will arrange for the appropriate authority to be informed.

asked the Minister of Health what are the latest figures of people suffering from leprosy; and what has been the increase over the last five years.

Three hundred and thirty cases in England and Wales at 5th July, 1965. The increase on the number for 31st December, 1960, is one hundred and six.

asked the Minister of Health what progress has been made in setting up an inquiry into the pay structure of registration officers; and when he expects a conclusion to be reached about this matter.

Exploratory talks have been held with both sides of the National Joint Council. At this stage it

asked the Minister of Health what official consultations he has had over the harmful effects to health of air pollution, particularly fumes from heavy vehicles; what legislation he envisages to counteract this; and if he will make a statement.

There is close and continuous consultation through the Clean Air Council and the Inter-departmental Committee for Air Pollution Research. I am advised that there is at present no evidence that diesel engine fumes are injurious to health. Any question of legislation on air pollution generally is for my right hon. Friend the Minister of Housing and Local Government, and on motor vehicle fumes for my right hon. Friend the Minister of Transport.

asked the Minister of Health if he will state the rate of increase in the prescribing of proprietary drugs in the National Health Service this year as compared with last, and the percentage of the total now prescribed, represented by proprietaries; and what new action he proposes to take to persuade doctors to prescribe non-proprietary equivalents, without interfering with their clinical freedom.

Prescriptions of proprietary preparations totalled just under 74 per cent. of all prescriptions during the year ended 31st March, 1965, compared with 71 per cent. the previous year. Lists have been issued of such preparations with non-proprietary equivalents and I intend to revise and re-issue these when I have advice from the Standing Joint Committee on the Classification of Proprietary Preparations.

asked the Minister of Health if he will seek the advice of the group he recently established to provide ideas on the long-term development of the National Health Service on the future integration of the three separately administered sections of the service.

Possible ways of securing closer integration in future between the different parts of the service are bound to be among the matters to which the Group will be giving thought.

asked the Minister of Health when he intends to make the promised statements about points of weakness in staffing in the National Health Service, and the urgent remedies proposed for dealing with them.

My officers have discussed with regional hospital boards measures to improve the organisation of recruitment of various classes of hospital staff. I am proposing to expand the recruitment publicity undertaken by my Department and to give more assistance to boards in the organisation of local recruitment measures. Since last October many grades of staff whose pay had fallen seriously out of line have received substantial improvements in pay.

asked the Minister of Health what representations he has received concerning the imposition of consultation fees on National Health Service patients; and if he will give an assurance that he will not agree to such a system.

asked the Minister of Health whether he will give an assurance that he will not agree to any proposals that National Health Service patients shall pay fees to their general medical practitioner for consultations either at their home or at the medical practitioner's surgery.

I have been informed that the Representative Body of the British Medical Association decided on 10th July that payment by patients should be included among the methods of remuneration proposed in the Family Doctor's Charter already under negotiation. I have made it clear to the representatives of the general practitioners that this method is unacceptable to the Government and I readily give the assurances requested by my hon. Friends.

asked the Minister of Health if he will make drug addiction a notifiable disease.

There is nothing that I can add to my right hon. Friend's reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Warrington (Mr. W. T. Williams) on 22nd March.

asked the Minister of Health what was the original estimate of the total annual cost of the complete removal of prescription charges, including the provision of all medical supplies; and what is the latest comparative estimate.

I would refer the hon. Member to my replies of 1st April and 24th June to the noble Lord the Member for Hertford (Lord Balniel).

asked the Minister of Health if, in considering his proposed legislation for quality control of drugs, he will consider the system of examination of samples on a regional basis by nominating the laboratories of full-time public analysts in six or seven strategic parts of the country as regional laboratories.

This is one of the suggestions that I am considering.

asked the Minister of Health what were the number and value of prescriptions uncollected from dispensing chemists during the most recent 12 months for which figures are available.

I regret that this information is not available.

asked the Minister of Health whether he will introduce legislation to enforce the innoculation of all persons going overseas and newly-born babies against venereal disease with the vaccine now available to protect the individual.

The hon. Member is under a misapprehension. No such vaccine is available.

asked the Minister of Health how many aliens in the Bournemouth and Christchurch areas have received hospital and medical treatment under the National Health Service free of charges other than statutory costs.

I regret that this information is not available.

asked the Minister of Health if, for consistency and the avoidance of overlapping, he will consider a single system of inspection and sampling of the quality of drugs instead of the proposed inspection by the Licensing Authority, the Pharmaceutical Society and the Food and Drugs Authority.

This is one of the suggestions that I am considering.

asked the Minister of Health what plans he now has for the integration of the ambulance service into the National Health Service, and for the establishment of an Ambulance Service Staff Council; and if he will make a statement.

I have nothing to add to the reply I gave on 26th May to my hon. Friend the Member for Epping (Mr. Newens).

asked the Minister of Labour if he will seek to hold consultations with the British Railways Board and the Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen about the current negotiations on productivity payments.

As the right hon. Member will be aware, I have talked with the Chairman of British Railways Board and the General Secretaries of the Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen and the National Union of Railwaymen. The matter is on the agenda of the meeting of the Railway Staff National Council tomorrow. Meanwhile, I would strongly urge that the men who have been taking unofficial action which has caused grave inconvenience to the travelling public should accept the advice of their union to continue normal working.

asked the Minister of Labour how much has been spent by Her Majesty's Government under the Industrial Training Act in the first 12 months since the Act was passed; and how much it is estimated will be spent in the financial year ending 5th April, 1966.

£135,000 was spent on grants and loans during the year ended 31st March, 1965, and it is estimated that £1½ million will bbe spent in the current financial year.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he will make a statement about the recent talks held by the rulers of the Trucial States and Bahrain.

Yes. The rulers of Bahrain, Qatar, and the seven Trucial States met at Dubai on 7th and 8th July, to discuss matters of common concern. This was the first meeting of rulers of all nine of these States. In their final communiqué the rulers announced that in accordance with their wish to strengthen relations between their States they signed a Currency Agreement providing the introduction of a new Gulf currency in place of the Indian External Rupee. They also welcomed the steps being taken to develop the Trucial States and agreed that money contributed for this purpose should be administered by the recipient States through the Development Office they have set up.As I said in the House on 21st June, we welcome greater co-operation between the States. We hope that the success of the Dubai meeting will encourage the rulers to further steps in this direction.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he will give details of the aspects of police work on which the British Police Advisory Mission in Saigon advise the South Vietnam Government.

Police training and procedure, civil disturbance control, and

1960–64		Oxford	Cambridge	Manchester	Other Universities
1. Foreign Service	…	733 (71)	496 (35)	35 (0)	634 (11)
2. Commonwealth Service	…	1,204 (14)	822 (13)	106 (0)	1,511 (1)
1965 only
Diplomatic Service	…	106 (10)	77 (12)	3 (0)	133 (3)
(i) Figures in brackets represent successful candidates.
(ii) Recruitment to the Colonial Service ceased in 1961. The figures given are for recruitment to the Commonwealth Service; the total of applicants in this column is for the Home Civil Service from which Commonwealth candidates were selected.
(iii) All the figures relate to direct entry from the various universities and do not include the supplementary overage competitions.

Efforts are continually being made to widen the area of recruitment to the Diplomatic Service. Last year, members of the Diplomatic Service Administration visited nearly every university in the British Isles to talk about conditions in the Service and to meet potential candidates and university staff. Similar recruitment drives have taken place for many years. Visits of under-graduates from provincial universities (as well as from Oxford and Cambridge) to the Commonwealth Relations Office and the Foreign Office are arranged twice a year by the Treasury. These undergraduates spend several days working in departments, meeting officials and Ministers and have the opportunity to see what the work, at home, of the Diplomatic Service is like. It is intended next year to invite groups of university staff

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what were the numbers of applicants for the foreign, diplomatic and colonial service during 1960–65, respectively, from the universities of Oxford, Cambridge, Manchester, and other provincial universities; how many of these were accepted; and what steps he proposes to take to end the Oxford and Cambridge monopoly in this sphere.

The number of applications for the Foreign, Diplomatic and Commonwealth Services during 1960–65 from the universities of Oxford, Cambridge, Manchester and other provincial universities was as follows:from the provincial universities to visit the Foreign Office and the Commonwealth Relations Office.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works if, following his consultations with the appropriate authorities, he will now arrange for a plaque to be placed in Westminster Hall to mark the spot upon which the catafalque of the late Sir Winston Churchill rested during his lying in state.

At the request of the Prime Minister arrangements were made some time ago for a plaque which is being installed today. It bears the inscription: "Winston Churchill lay in state here from the twenty-seventh of January until his burial at Bladon on the thirtieth of January nineteen hundred and sixty five."

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works if he will now make a statement about the future of the magnolia tree on Government property in Maidstone, about which he has been in correspondence with the hon. Member for Maidstone.

The building which was to have been erected near the tree has been re-sited so as not to interfere with it.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works what alleviation has now taken place in the cement shortage in Shropshire.

The cement situation in Shropshire is similar to that in the rest of the country. We have had no indications either of improvements or special difficulties in the position there, but I will, of course, look into any particular cases that are sent to me.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he is satisfied that the use of cyclamates in processed foods and soft drinks is without danger to the consumer; and whether he will make a statement.

I cannot add at this stage to the reply which my right hon. Friend gave to the hon. Member for Wood Green (Mrs. Joyce Butler) on 19th May. The Pharmacolgy Sub-Committee of the Food Additives and Contaminants Committee are examining the available data and we await their advice.

asked the Minister of Aviation if he will explain the existence in unauthorised hands of a photostat copy of a restricted document emanating from his Department which was forwarded to him on 30th June by the hon. Member for Harrow, East; which section of his Department is responsible for the custody of this document; and what disciplinary action he intends to take against the individuals responsible.

The document in question, which contains no information of any security significance, was an annex to a contract, incorrectly graded Restricted, which my Department had issued to a private firm. Restricted is the lowest of security classifications and is used for documents whose disclosure while not desirable, would not be damaging to the nation's interests.An employee who has since left the firm moved it improperly from the office in which he was working. I have written to the hon. and gallant Member about the circumstances in which the employee was able to remove the document; they do not afford grounds for disciplinary action within my Department.

asked the Minister of Aviation if he will make a statement on the arrangements for the appeal of B.K.S. from the decision of the Air Transport Licensing Board refusing the development of an air freight service between Aldergrove, Liverpool and Prestwick.

Any appeal to me from a decision of the Air Transport Licensing Board must comply with the provisions of Regulation 14 of the Civil Aviation (Licensing) Regulations, 1964, (S.I. No. 1116 of 1964). If an appeal is made from the decision mentioned I shall subject to compliance with the Regulation, appoint a Commissioner and handle the other arrangements for the case as expeditiously as possible. In the event of an appeal, I will let the hon. Member have particulars of the arrangements made.

asked the Prime Minister which member or members of Her Majesty's Government are to be given residence in Admiralty House.

I have as yet nothing to add to the Answer I gave on 25th June to a Question by my hon. Friend the Member for Fife, West (Mr. William Hamilton).

asked the Prime Minister what steps he has taken to investigate the prior leakage of information concerning the visit of the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Pensions and National Insurance to Hanoi, and with what result; and if he will make a statement.

Inquiries have not yet brought to light the source of the leak. It should not, however, be assumed that the leak necessarily occurred in this country.

asked the Minister of Transport if he will make all future announcements confirming rail closures to the House of Commons in the first instance.

No. I prefer to continue the established practice under which, save in exceptional cases, my decisions on rail closure proposals are published by the Railways Board immediately on receipt.

asked the Minister of Transport what decision he has reached about the provision of traffic signals at the intersections of A.27 and the principal side-roads in Fareham and Portchester.

I wrote to the hon. Member on 6th July about this.

asked the Minister of Transport when traffic signals are to be installed at the Bailiff Bridge road junction, Brighouse.

These signals are being provided by the Brighouse Borough Council. I authorised grant on 31st March last. As it is a county road the Borough Council need the approval of the West Riding County Council. I understand this is being sought at the County Council's meeting this week. If approved, the signals could be installed in three or four months' time, when delivery of the equipment could be expected.

asked the Minister of Transport whether he will take action to ensure that, before any person is appointed to the position of a driving test examiner, all facts regarding the antecedent activities of such person material to the appointment are known to the Minister, in order to prevent the kind of situation, of which details have been sent to him by the hon. Member for Coventry, South, which arose in respect of the appointment of a driving test examiner in the Coventry district.

Newly appointed driving examiners who have previously been employed on the instruction of learner drivers are not posted initially to centres to which they have recently taken candidates for tests. I see no need, as a general rule, to go further than this.

asked the Minister of Transport whether the use of radio telephones in cars is to be restricted to occasions when the vehicle is stationary; and what evidence exists that accidents have occurred as a result of this equipment being used when the vehicle is in motion.

I have been considering making regulations about this matter and hope to make a statement shortly.Any distraction may be a factor contributing to an accident, but specific causes cannot always be defined.

asked the Minister of Transport if he will stale the amount of capital expenditure on dock improvements to be made in the period 1965 to 1970, in the ports of Hull and Swansea, respectively.

The British Transport Docks Board's programme for the years 1965 to 1969 includes £14·5 million and £4·5 million for improvements at Hull and Swansea respectively. The extent to which this programme will be implemented remains to be decided.

			Anthracite*		Tinplate		Petroleum
			Foreign	Coastwise	Foreign	Coastwise	Foreign	Coastwise
1938†	…	…	3,759,023		286,915		194,356
1948†	…	…	947,406		108,068		356,939
1958	…	…	962,073	251,536	278,337	31,318	340,182	1,878,910
1964	…	…	1,641,244	185,889	256,145	18,283	888,858	2,835,693
* May contain a small amount of steam coal or coke.
† No separate figures for foreign or coastwise shipping available for these years.

asked the Minister of Overseas Development what is the target percentage increase for the year 1966–67 in the number of graduate volunteers serving overseas over the figure of 1,200 for 1965–66.

8·3 per cent.

asked the Minister of Overseas Development how many United Kingdom students have taken full-time courses in other Commonwealth countries in each of the last five years to the nearest

SUMMARY OF UNITED KINGDOM STUDENTS WHO HAVE EMBARKED ON COURSES OF TRAINING IN COMMONWEALTH COUNTRIES UNDER COMMONWEALTH CO-OPERATION SCHEMES
			1960–61	1961–62	1962–63	1963–64	1964–65
Canada	…	…	13	10	8	9	11
Australia	…	…	4	6	7	5	3
New Zealand	…	…	2	3	2	1	4
India	…	…	—	—	3	6	5
Pakistan	…	…	—	1	2	—	—
Ceylon	…	…	—	—	—	1	—
Nigeria	…	…	—	1	1	4	—
East Africa	…	…	—	9	28	44	62
Hong Kong	…	…	—	—	1	—	—
Rhodesia	…	…	2	1	—	3	8
Trinidad	…	…	13	16	10	19	12
Malaya	…	…	1	—	—	1	1
Sierra Leone	…	…	—	—	—	1	—
Jamaica	…	…	—	—	—	—	1
Total	…	…	35	47	62	94	107

asked the Minister of Transport if he will state, in tabular form, the tonnage of anthracite, tinplate, and petroleum, shipped from the Port of Swansea in the years 1938, 1948, 1958 and 1964, respectively.

The information requested is as follows:convenient date; and if she will state the numbers, respectively, for each of the Commonwealth countries concerned.

I regret that it is not possible to provide the full information requested.Information which is available in the Ministry of Overseas Development concerns (

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will introduce legislation to give power to immigration officers at airports and ports, upon the application of an interested party, to prevent a child who is a ward of court from being taken out of the country; and if he will seek to hold discussions with the appropriate authorities in Northern Ireland, the Channel Islands and other parts of the British Isles, with a view to securing their assistance in preventing wards of court from being taken from England and Wales.

Immigration officers at ports in England and Wales have instructions to point out to a person in charge of a child whom they know to be the subject of a court order for custody or wardship, or to the child himself if he is unaccompanied, that he may not leave the country without the consent of the court. If, despite this warning, the child persists in trying to embark, the immigration officer is instructed to bring the matter to the attention of the police, who have been advised that they should prevent such a child from embarking without the consent of the court. I am considering the difficulties which arise in regard to other parts of the British Isles.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether there is a college of nautical studies in the British Isles; if the proposed college in Glasgow will contain a planetarium, a roof observatory, a boat house and a heat engine laboratory; and to what extent the specialised nature of the accommodation and requirements will affect the building design and cost.

In addition to Leith Nautical College and the existing facilities in Glasgow there are in the British Isles several nautical colleges and further education centres which provide courses in nautical subjects. The plans for the new college in Glasgow include a planetarium, a roof observatory, a boathouse and a heat engine laboratory. Special cost allowances have been made in respect of the first three of these items as well as of other exceptional features.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland where nautical studies are presently available in Glasgow; under whose auspices they are being provided; what is the annual cost of such provision; and who bears the cost.

Nautical subjects are available at the School of Navigation conducted by Glasgow Education Authority, and at the schools of nautical cookery and of seamanship conducted by the shipping federation. The annual cost of the school of navigation is about £40,000, but this is pooled expenditure which is shared by all authorities in the same proportions as the aggregate general grant is shared. The annual cost of the schools of nautical cookery and of seamanship is approximately £6,000 of which rather more than half is met by direct grant from the Scottish Education Department.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland when the first meeting took place to discuss the erection of a college of nautical studies in Glasgow; when was the architect appointed; what is the amount of the lowest tender, and the reason for the delay in commencing building work; and when building is likely to commence.

The building of the college was proposed by the education authority in December 1957, and discussions with officers of my Department started in 1958. Cost plans were agreed on the basis of a sketch plan submitted in 1962. Tenders were sought for the project at the end of 1964 and were received in March 1965. The tender now under consideration amounts to nearly £800,000. When full allowance has been made for additional costs reflecting the special requirements of the college, this substantially exceeds prescribed cost limits. Discussions on cost are proceeding with the authority, and building should commence as soon as acceptable costs have been agreed.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps have been taken by his Department to improve conditions of service for members of the Territorial Army Emergency Reserve who have been sent to Aden; and whether he will make a statement.

Soldiers of the Territorial Army Emergency Reserve have been absorbed into units of the Regular Army in Aden and share the same duties and living conditions. There is continuous effort to improve amenities for Service men in the area.

asked the Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations (1) whether he will make representations to the Nigerian Government to ensure that, when Nigeria becomes an associate member of the European Economic Community, British imports into Nigeria have the same import duty preferences as those of other European Economic Community countries;(2) what representations he has made to the Government of Nigeria in connection with the initialling of the preferential

Age at end of year (31st March)				1958–59	1959–60	1960–61	1961–62	1962–63
				Per cent.	Per cent.	Per cent.	Per cent.	Per cent.
Under 25	…	…	…	1·7	3·3	3·1	3·2	5·2
25–29	…	…	…	3·4	4·0	4·1	5·2	5·7

The rise shown in these rates partly reflects the increase in recent years in the movement of younger men teachers to other parts of the education service, particularly to the colleges of education and further education establishments, whose demands for teaching staff have been rising rapidly. Another contributory factor is the growth of opportunities for young men teachers to serve for a short period overseas, subsequently returning to resume their teaching careers here. To a large extent, therefore, these figures do not represent a growing loss to the education service, but rather a widening of the opportunities within it open to

I am not aware that such an agreement has been initialled. We have informed the Nigerian Government that, whilst we should be glad for them to secure improved opportunities for their exports to the European Economic Community, we should deprecate their complying with a proposal from the Community that they should grant tariff preferences to imports from the Community.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what percentage of male teachers have left teaching within seven years of completing their training in each of the last five years; to what reasons he ascribes this wastage; what action he is taking to minimise it; and whether he will make a statement.

The Table below sets out the percentage of non-graduate men teachers, in the age bands shown, who left the maintained primary and secondary schools during the year ended 31st March, 1963, and in each of the preceding years. Broadly similar wastage rates applied to the corresponding men graduate teachers for the period in question.younger trained men teachers. I do not regard the situation as one which calls for any special action on my part.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what plans he has to increase the educational facilities for handicapped children in the Portsmouth area.

This is a matter for the local education authority in the first instance. I shall be glad to consider any proposals they may make.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the latest information he has received about the content of strontium 90 in the water supply and in agricultural products grown in this country.

Concentrations of strontium 90 in drinking water in 1963 were the subject of a report by the Minister of Housing and Local Government in August, 1964. Drinking water contributes a very small proportion of the total ingestion of radioactivity in diet.Concentrations of strontium 90 in human diet (including agricultural products) during the whole of 1963 and in milk during the first six months of 1964, were the subject of a report by the Agricultural Research Council's Radiobiological Laboratory published in September, 1964; in February, 1965, the Laboratory produced a report on concentrations of strontium 90 in milk during the latter half of 1964. Experience shows that the ratio of strontium 90 to calcium in milk is closely indicative of the ratio in the average diet.Reports on concentrations of strontium 90 in drinking water and human diet respectively during the whole of 1964, and in milk during the first half of 1965, will be published shortly.Dietary contamination reached a peak in the second half of 1963 as a result of nuclear weapons tests up to the autumn of 1962. In the absence of further testing of nuclear weapons in the atmosphere, levels are expected to decline.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science when he will make an announcement about the findings of the arbitral body on teachers' pay.

I received the Report of the arbitral body late last week and have now made it available to all interested parties on the Burnham Committee. I am making the necessary arrangements to put the arbitrators' recommendations into effect in accordance with the provisions of the Remuneration of Teachers Act 1965. These recommendations will add about £1½ million to the annual cost, estimated at about £43 million, of the final offer the Management Panel made in negotiation in March of this year, raising the percentage increase from about 12½ per cent. to about 13 per cent., this increase to last for two years from 1st April, 1965. Printed copies of the Report will be available on Friday and I shall then place it in the Library.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether he will arrange that lectures by specialist doctors should be given to final year forms in all secondary schools explaining the consequences that venereal disease infection can have upon the victim.

No. It is for local education authorities and their teachers to decide what is taught in schools.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the present estimated tax relief per week to a married man with two children aged between five years and 11 years who has a £3,000 mortgage on a 20-year repayment basis and whose annual income is £3,000, assuming he has no other specially permitted Income Tax allowances.

On the assumptions that the total income of £3,000 is all earned and that the rate of interest on the mortgage is 6¾ per cent., the relief will be anything between very little and about 25s. a week, depending on the age of the mortgage.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on car allowance claims by Members who hold season tickets.

Holders of railway season tickets issued by the Fees Office are normally limited to one return car journey each week, but additional claims not more than three months in arrear may now be admitted where a return journey is made after 11.30 p.m. following a late night sitting of the House.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer by what date he intends to introduce parity of pensions.

I have nothing to add to the reply which I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Putney (Mr. Hugh Jenkins) on 16th July.

asked the First Secretary of State and Secretary of State for Economic Affairs if he will refer to the Prices and Incomes Board the proposed increase in tariff charges by the South-Eastern Electricity Board, with particular reference to the effect on pensioners and those on small fixed incomes of the change in the domestic tariff charges.

The reasons for the latest increase which came into effect on 1st April have already been explained to and accepted by the Electricity Consultative Council concerned and my right hon. Friend the Minister of Power has been informed and considers the increase justified.

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance in how many cases her Department has required repayment of £2 10s. 0d. a week on account of excess earnings by wives of pensioners on sickness benefit; and in how many of these cases the excess was less than 10s. a week.

I regret that the information asked for is not available. I am writing to my hon. Friend about an individual case he has raised.

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance whether she is aware that the present scale of sickness benefit for the wife and two children of a long-term hospital patient is below sub- sistence level, even if the wife also earns the maximum allowed by statute; and if she will take steps to increase it.

The standard rates of benefit including full increases for dependants are payable in such a case apart from a reduction of 16s. to take account of the fact that the cost of the husband's maintenance falls on the National Health Service.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government whether he is satisfied that the Town and Country Planning General Development Order, 1963 is working satisfactorily; what complaints he has received from local authorities or from individuals that the powers granted under the Order are causing inconvenience to local residents; and what replies he has sent.

The Order confers a variety of powers on local planning authorities, on my right hon. Friend the Minister of Transport, and on me. If the hon. Member will specify which powers he has in mind I will investigate.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government when Hastings Council will receive confirmation of the clearance area compulsory purchase order relating to Mrs. Peacock's accommodation at 27, Victoria Dwellings, St. Leonards-on-Sea, which was submitted to him several months ago.

The decision on this order was sent to the council on 9th July.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government if he will introduce legislation to make it compulsory for public notices describing the size and type of development for which planning applications are being made to be posted on the relative sites four weeks before such applications may be considered by the appropriate planning authority.

No. The law already requires the prior advertisement of certain proposals for development such as sewage works and refuse tips. Other proposals may be advertised by the local planning authority at their discretion. A requirement to post notices, however innocuous the development proposed, would only add further complications to what is already a complicated and time consuming procedure.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government, how many families in Brighton were evicted and rehoused by the local authority in the first six months of 1965; what was the comparable figure for 1964; and what were the numbers of families so evicted and rehoused by the local authority of Brighton in each of the years 1957 to 1964.

My right hon. Friend does not have this information.

asked the Postmaster-General if he will now review the situation in Bolton where at the present time there are no lines available for people wishing to have a telephone installed and there is likely to be a continuing shortage of underground cables.

More exchange equipment and cables are already being provided; the majority of those now waiting for telephones in Bolton will get service by the autumn. Further cable schemes are being planned and the remaining orders will be met by next spring.

asked the Postmaster-General whether he is satisfied with the existing arrangement for the telephone service in Purton; and when the next phase in the development of the service in that area will be completed.

I am sorry that twenty-one applications for telephones at Purton are at present held up because of shortage of exchange equipment. More equipment is being provided and the outstanding orders should be met in a few months' time.

asked the Postmaster-General how soon he expects to be able to supply telephone lines to people in Bury St. Edmunds who have been waiting for more than a year.

A new automatic exchange will be opened in Bury St. Edmunds by the end of October, and we shall then be able to provide telephones for all those who have been waiting for one.

asked the President of the Board of Trade (I) how many applications were received by his Department from industrial concerns in North Staffordshire desiring to modernise or extend in each year since 1945; how many were refused an industrial development certificate; and how many extra jobs were involved in all these applications;(2) if he will set out in tabular form, for each year since 1945, the number of new factories constructed in North Staffordshire to manufacture pottery, the number of extensions each year, and the number of factories which have been modernised.

The total number of applications for industrial development certificates in North Staffordshire received in the period was 652 of which 5 were refused. The additional employment associated with these applications was 25,000. Information is available only in respect of developments requiring industrial development certificates. It is not possible to distinguish in the figures between applications made for the purpose of modernising and extending.The following table gives by years the figures of applications approved and rejected, and the number of new buildings and extensions in respect of the pottery industry for which i.d.c.s have been given

					Pottery Industry number of completions
Year			Total number of applications approved	Applications refused	new buildings	extensions
1945	…	…	7	—	—	—
1946	…	…	54	—	1	1
1947	…	…	28	—	—	13
1948	…	…	25	—	1	22
1949	…	…	54	1	—	19
1950	…	…	41	2	1	17
1951	…	…	37	—	—	19
1952	…	…	22	—	—	21
1953	…	…	26	—	—	9
1954	…	…	42	—	1	16
1955	…	…	37	—	—	12
1956	…	…	24	—	1	14
1957	…	…	34	—	2	11
1958	…	…	25	—	1	4
1959	…	…	35	—	—	13
1960	…	…	47	—	—	10
1961	…	…	28	—	—	7
1962	…	…	20	—	—	5
1963	…	…	30	—	—	8
1964	…	…	31	2	—	2
1945–64	…	…	647	5	8	223

asked the President of the Board of Trade what plans he has for the training of recruits for the position of patent examiner.

Recruits are required to have a 2nd Class Honours Degree, or its equivalent, in Science or Engineering. They are trained in the Patent Office during their first years of service.

asked the President of the Board of Trade how many patent examiners he needs to recruit for the Patent Office during the next three years.

I hope, if possible, to recruit about 50 Examiners a year.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what is the present average delay at the Patent Office in issuing the first report on the examination of a patent application; and to what period of time he aims to reduce that delay by his present recruitment policy.

At present the Examiner normally issues his first report in 9½ to 10 months after the receipt of the complete specification. There has been a substantial improvement in the time taken to issue these reports during the last few years. I certainly hope to reduce this period further, but it must depend upon the rate of recruitment, how far the number of applications continues to rise, and the development of new methods of work, which are under examination.