Written Answers

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Written Answers To Questions

Friday, 3rd December, 1965

National Finance

3½ Per Cent War Loan

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has for the redemption of holdings of 3½ per cent. War Loan held between 1946 and 1952.

I have no statement to make about redemption of this stock.

Churchill Crowns

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will make a statement about the availability of Churchill Crowns.

The Mint is striking Churchill Crowns at the rate of about a million a week. Production will continue until orders placed with the banks have been fully met. The public are advised to place their orders with the banks and wait till they can obtain them through this channel at their face value rather than pay inflated prices.

Scotland

District General Hospital, Airdrie

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what estimated number of patient beds he intends to approve in the new general hospital to be built at Airdrie; what medical units will be provided; and if he will authorise ophthalmic and mental health units to be included in the new building.

The regional hospital board proposes to provide about 600 in-patient beds in the District General Hospital at Airdrie, covering the following departments:

General Medicine.
General Surgery.
Orthopaedics.
Gynaecology.
Ear and Nose and Throat.
Paediatrics.
Dermatology.
Accident and Emergency.
Geriatric Assessment.
Infectious Diseases /Isolation.
General Practitioner Maternity Unit.
Acute Psychiatry Unit.

Out-patient ophthalmic services will be provided but it is not intended to provide an in-patient ophthalmic unit, as the unit proposed for the District Hospital at Motherwell, which is the larger centre, will be able to serve the combined population.

Hospital Building Programme

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he has completed his review of the hospital building programme; and when he will make an announcement on the details, including estimated costs and starting dates.

I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply given to the hon. Member for Edinburgh, West (Mr. Stodart) on 17th November.

Home Department

Prisoners (Letters And Visits)

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will remove the restrictions regarding the number of letters that may be sent or received by prisoners; and if he will increase the number of family visits that may be made to prisoners in order to lessen the strains on a prisoner's marriage and family life.

There are no restrictions on the number of letters and visits which unconvicted prisoners may receive.Convicted prisoners under present arrangements may write and receive one letter weekly. Since last July they have also been allowed one extra letter each week, provided they meet the cost of postage from their earnings, one corresponding incoming letter being also allowed. Young prisoners are allowed a visit every two weeks and adult prisoners one every four weeks. Governors may also allow an additional letter or visit for welfare reasons, and my right hon. and learned Friend is satisfied that this discretion is exercised with sympathy and understanding.It is not practicable to extend these facilities further at present because of the limitations of staff and accommodation; but I recognise the importance in particular of family visits in order to preserve prisoners' contacts with their families and am keeping the position under review.

Persons In Custody

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the total number of prisoners in custody; how many are married; and how many children have one or both parents under detention.

On 16th November, 24,118 males and 705 females were in prisons; 4,541 boys and 140 girls were in borstals; and 1,545 boys and 25 girls were in detention centres. I regret that statistics of their marital status or number of children are not available.

Ministry Of Aviation

Bea (Assets)

asked the Minister of Aviation if he will estimate the proportion of British European Airways' net assets attributable respectively to United Kingdom internal air services and to its other air services.

AIRLINE OPERATING STATISTICS FOR THE YEARS 1958 TO 1964
		Year	Unit	BOAC	PAA	TWA	Air France	KLM
1. Total Capacity ton miles	…	1958	millions	378	852	890	423	325
		1959	millions	476	945	1,027	452	370
		1960	millions	667	1,212	1,219	531	440
		1961	millions	887	1,591	1,348	703	522
		1962	millions	931	1,857	1,585	778	569
		1963	millions	1,017	2,093	1,983	797	586
		1964	millions	1,150	2,368	2,418	832	618
2. Total Revenue	…	1958	£ millions	58	112	102	63	46
		1959	£ millions	70	128	124	76	51
		1960	£ millions	88	148	135	91	57
		1961	£ millions	93	164	129	107	58
		1962	£ millions	92	180	144	114	60
		1963	£ millions	104	200	170	120	58
		1964	£ millions	114	216	205	n/a	66
3. Revenue load ton miles, Total	…	1958	millions	202	535	514	256	182
		1959	millions	253	625	643	273	211
		1960	millions	317	718	658	317	251
		1961	millions	351	883	640	382	273
		1962	millions	372	1,042	710	416	275
		1963	millions	428	1,136	868	427	255
		1964	millions	521	1,302	1,095	468	315
Passenger	…	1958	millions	146	398	446	197	127
		1959	millions	188	464	550	212	143
		1960	millions	241	521	551	244	169
		1961	millions	261	622	509	289	176
		1962	millions	273	732	551	314	178
		1963	millions	311	811	680	324	161
		1964	millions	378	909	861	362	193

The average value in the current year, 1965–66 of B.E.A.'s fixed assets is estimated to be £94 million. The attribution of fixed assets to domestic and to international routes can only be regarded as approximate. Of the total of £94 million, about £22 million is attributable to domestic services and about £65 million to international services. About £7 million represents advance payments for aircraft under construction. The remainder of net assets—investments, current assets less current liabilities, etc—when netted, are small in amount and cannot readily be attributed to separate routes.

Airline Operating Statistics

asked the Minister of Aviation if he will bring up to date the figures in the Annex to the House of Commons Paper, "The Financial Problems of the British Overseas Airways Corporation", published in November, 1963.

The following is the table, brought up to date as far as possible. Some of the 1964 figures are provisional.

		Year	Unit	BOAC	PAA	TWA	Air France	KLM
Mail	…	1958	millions	21	36	26	16	7
		1959	millions	24	45	30	15	8
		1960	millions	29	60	37	20	9
		1961	millions	30	92	39	22	10
		1962	millions	27	104	52	20	10
		1963	millions	31	112	56	22	9
		1964	millions	33	109	58	23	9
Freight	…	1958	millions	36	101	42	43	49
		1959	millions	40	116	62	46	60
		1960	millions	47	137	71	52	72
		1961	millions	59	169	92	70	86
		1962	millions	73	206	107	82	87
		1963	millions	85	213	132	81	85
		1964	millions	111	284	176	83	113
4. Overall Load Factor	…	1958	per cent.	57·2	62·8	57·8	62·8	57·6
		1959	per cent.	57·6	66·2	62·6	63·3	59·3
		1960	per cent.	55·7	59·2	54·0	61·2	59·5
		1961	per cent.	45·8	55·5	47·5	55·4	55·6
		1962	per cent.	44·9	56·1	44·8	53·4	55·4
		1963	per cent.	47·6	54·3	44·5	53·5	47·5
		1964	per cent.	49·3	55·0	45·3	56·0	53·6
5. Available seat miles	…	1958	millions	2,417	6,033	7,256	3,142	2,354
		1959	millions	3,103	6,452	8,071	3,372	2,591
		1960	millions	4,181	7,864	8,926	3,930	3,062
		1961	millions	5,355	10,439	9,523	5,304	3,481
		1962	millions	5,843	12,502	11,151	5,750	3,428
		1963	millions	6,036	14,118	13,755	5,983	3,650
		1964	millions	6,782	15,533	15,675	6,374	3,700
6. Revenue passenger miles	…	1958	millions	1,474	3,893	4,593	1,968	1,250
		1959	millions	1,905	4,593	5,673	21,125	1,402
		1960	millions	2,499	5,125	5,660	2,456	1,675
		1961	millions	2,656	6,192	5,243	2,911	1,744
		1962	millions	2,782	7,267	5,681	3,096	1,762
		1963	millions	3,180	8,069	7,016	3,123	1,590
		1964	millions	3,869	9,027	8,875	3,482	1,924
7. Passenger load factor	…	1958	per cent.	61·0	64·5	63·3	62·6	53·1
		1959	per cent.	61·4	71·2	70·3	63·0	54·1
		1960	per cent.	59·8	65·2	63·4	62·5	54·7
		1961	per cent.	49·6	59·3	55·1	54·9	50·1
		1962	per cent.	47·6	58·1	51·0	53·8	51·4
		1963	per cent.	52·7	57·2	51·0	52·2	43·6
		1964	per cent.	57·1	58·1	56·6	54·6	52·0
8. Passengers carried	…	1958	Thousands	496	2,899	4,723	2,464	941
		1959	Thousands	626	3,219	5,510	2,707	1,104
		1960	Thousands	896	3,481	5,818	3,056	1,361
		1961	Thousands	983	3,795	5,521	3,350	1,398
		1962	Thousands	977	4,495	5,863	3,449	1,455
		1963	Thousands	1,083	4,833	6,836	3,483	1,466
		1964	Thousands	1,229	5,325	8,226	3,801	1,606
9. Number of Employees	…	1958	Number	18,800	21,600	19,200	19,700	17,000
		1959	Number	18,900	21,900	19,200	20,500	17,100
		1960	Number	20,600	22,900	19,900	21,900	18,000
		1961	Number	21,700	23,100	20,000	23,800	18,300
		1962	Number	21,400	23,300	20,700	25,000	17,400
		1963	Number	20,300	24,300	21,400	24,600	16,200
		1964	Number	19,600	25,700	n/a	n/a	15,000
10. Operating cost per ctm	…	1958	pence	36·4	30·8	27·5(a)	35·3	33·8
		1959	pence	34·0	30·8	27·6(a)	39·0	32·4
		1960	pence	30·3	27·4	25·4(a)	40·0	31·1
		1961	pence	26·5(b)	23·4	25·5(a)	36·8	28·5
		1962	pence	24·5(b)	21·2	21·3(a)	36·5	26·2
		1963	pence	22·4(b)	19·7	19·1(a)	36·4	24·0
		1964	pence	20·4(b)	19·5	n/a	n/a	n/a

	Year	Unit	BOAC	PAA	TWA	Air France	KLM
11. Utilisation of aircraft	1958	hours per day	6·71	8·58	7·53	5·27	5·95
	1959	hours per day	7·42	8·05	6·89	5·95	6·51
	1960	hours per day	7·55	6·07	6·16	4·65	6·49
	1961	hours per day	7·43	6·44	5·58	4·41	6·54
	1962	hours per day	8·10	7·20	5·93	4·87	6·36
	1963	hours per day	8·53	7·26	6·30	5·26	6·44
	1964	hours per day	8·74	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a
12. C.T.M's per employee	1958	Number	20,100	39,400	46,400	21,500	19,100
	1959	Number	25,100	43,200	53,500	22,100	21,600
	1960	Number	32,400	52,900	61,300	24,200	24,400
	1961	Number	41,000	68,900	67,400	29,500	28,500
	1962	Number	43,500	79,700	76,600	31,400	32,700
	1963	Number	50,000	86,100	92,600	32,400	36,200
	1964	Number	58,500	92,100	n/a	n/a	41,200
13. Ratio between capital employed and traffic revenue	1958	Capital=1·0 Revenue	0·8	1·8	1·4	1·6	1·1
	1959	Capital=1·0 Revenue	0·9	1·5	1·8	1·7	1·2
	1960	Capital=1·0 Revenue	0·9	1·2	1·4	1·2	1·1
	1961	Capital=1·0 Revenue	0·8	1·1	1·1	1·1	0·8
	1962	Capital=1·0 Revenue	0·9	1·3	1·1	1·0	0·9
	1963	Capital=1·0 Revenue	1·1	1·6	1·2	1·0	0·9
	1964	Capital=1·0 Revenue	1·2	1·7	n/a	n/a	n/a
14. Profit or Loss (excluding income tax, subsidy, interest and dividends, and proceeds on retirement of operating property and equipment)	1958	£ millions	-2·3	+3·1	-0·4	-2·2	-0·03
	1959	£ millions	+3·2	+6·6	+7·2	-0·5	-0·1
	1960	£ millions	+2·2	+8·2	+5·8	-1·3	+0·7
	1961	£ millions	-13·9(c)	+8·1	-13·5	+0·02	-6·1
	1962	£ millions	-5·8(d)	+15·3	+2·8	-3·4	-5·0
	1963	£ millions	+7·1(e)	+27·4	+14·6	-1·6	-4·1
	1964	£ millions	+13·8(f)	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a
15. Item 14 as percentage of item 2	1958	per cent.	-4·0	+2·8	-0·4	-2·5	-0·07
	1959	per cent.	+4·6	+5·2	+5·8	-0·7	-0·2
	1960	per cent.	+2·5	+5·5	+4·3	-1·4	+1·2
	1961	per cent.	-14·9	+4·9	-10·5	+0·02	-10·5
	1962	per cent.	-6·3	+8·5	+1·9	-3·0	-8·3
	1963	per cent.	+6·8	+13·7	+8·6	-1·3	-7·1
	1964	per cent.	+12·1	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a

		Year	Unit	SAS	Sabena	Swissair	BEA	QEA
1. Total Capacity ton miles	…	1958	millions	273	160	126	181	130
		1959	millions	263	149	135	192	148
		1960	millions	302	206	166	237	211
		1961	millions	352	201	208	282	242
		1962	millions	367	202	264	328	291
		1963	millions	389	218	290	379	316
		1964	millions	414	264	338	436	384
2. Total Revenue	…	1958	£ millions	36	26	21	32	19
		1959	£ millions	38	24	23	37	23
		1960	£ millions	44	30	27	42	27
		1961	£ millions	48	26	31	47	28
		1962	£ millions	52	27	38	51	33
		1963	£ millions	64	30	42	60	37
		1964	£ millions	70	32	46	66	44
3. Revenue load ton miles, Total	…	1958	millions	139	110	76	109	73
		1959	millions	145	104	82	130	82
		1960	millions	168	151	97	155	111
		1961	millions	176	127	114	169	116
		1962	millions	189	125	137	196	147
		1963	millions	207	142	150	227	168
		1964	millions	238	n/a	176	254	211

		Year	Unit	SAS	Sabena	Swissair	BEA	QEA
Passenger	…	1958	millions	113	84	59	93	50
		1959	millions	116	77	62	111	54
		1960	millions	132	121	73	134	73
		1961	millions	134	92	88	149	78
		1962	millions	141	97	109	172	101
		1963	millions	152	109	117	199	119
		1964	millions	176	n/a	137	219	148
Mail	…	1958	millions	7	5	4	4	9
		1959	millions	7	5	4	4	9
		1960	millions	9	4	5	4	10
		1961	millions	10	3	6	4	11
		1962	millions	11	3	6	5	14
		1963	millions	11	3	7	5	15
		1964	millions	13	n/a	8	6	18
Freight	…	1958	millions	19	21	13	12	14
		1959	millions	21	22	16	15	19
		1960	millions	27	26	19	17	28
		1961	millions	32	31	20	16	27
		1962	millions	37	25	22	19	32
		1963	millions	44	30	26	23	34
		1964	millions	49	n/a	31	29	45
4. Overall Load Factor	…	1958	per cent.	51·0	69·0	60·3	60·4	56·4
		1959	per cent.	55·0	69·8	61·0	67·7	56·2
		1960	per cent.	55·7	73·4	58·4	65·2	52·3
		1961	per cent.	50·0	63·3	54·8	59·9	47·9
		1962	per cent.	51·5	61·7	51·9	59·9	50·5
		1963	per cent.	53·2	61·4	51·8	60·0	53·2
		1964	per cent.	57·6	n/a	52·3	58·4	54·8
5. Available seat miles	…	1958	millions	2,076	1,388	963	1,581	815
		1959	millions	2,029	1,340	994	1,663	909
		1960	millions	2,318	1,495	1,216	2,089	1,192
		1961	millions	2,720	1,648	1,652	2,530	1,401
		1962	millions	2,936	1,748	1,986	2,806	1,843
		1963	millions	3,120	1,809	2,172	3,144	2,012
		1964	millions	3,371	1,873	2,467	3,565	2,457
6. Revenue passenger miles	…	1958	millions	1,135	802	568	988	475
		1959	millions	1,160	748	600	1,154	523
		1960	millions	1,340	785	707	1,393	693
		1961	millions	1,372	732	848	1,550	753
		1962	millions	1,456	860	1,048	1,716	978
		1963	millions	1,557	836	1,145	1,994	1,159
		1964	millions	1,783	1,011	1,332	2,179	1,422
7. Passenger load factor	…	1958	per cent.	54·6	57·8	59·0	62·5	58·3
		1959	per cent.	57·2	55·8	60·4	69·4	57·5
		1960	per cent.	57·8	52·5	58·2	66·7	58·2
		1961	per cent.	50·4	44·4	51·3	61·3	53·7
		1962	per cent.	49·6	49·2	52·8	61·2	53·1
		1963	per cent.	49·9	46·2	52·7	63·4	57·6
		1964	per cent.	52·9	54·0	54·0	61·1	57·9
8. Passengers carried	…	1958	Thousands	1,513	955	1,062	2,829	164
		1959	Thousands	1,586	739	1,106	3,290	186
		1960	Thousands	1,861	929	1,303	3,991	189
		1961	Thousands	1,953	862	1,460	4,393	188
		1962	Thousands	2,092	927	1,672	4,915	240
		1963	Thousands	2,358	992	1,802	5,605	293
		1964	Thousands	2,617	n/a	1,941	6,119	359
9. Number of Employees	…	1958	Number	11,600	10,600	5,100	11,500	6,300
		1959	Number	12,400	10,900	5,800	12,200	6,400
		1960	Number	13,600	10,600	6,800	13,200	6,800
		1961	Number	14,200	11,400	7,400	14,500	6,600
		1962	Number	12,900	10,700	7,700	16,200	6,700
		1963	Number	11,900	10,000	8,300	16,700	7,000
		1964	Number	12,100	10,200	8,600	17,700	7,800

	Year	Unit	SAS	Sabena	Swissair	BEA	QEA
10. Operating cost per ctm	1958	pence	32·6	38·7	37·3	40·2	32·2
	1959	pence	34·3	39·3	38·2	41·8	33·8
	1960	pence	37·4	34·9	37·2	40·0	28·2
	1961	pence	36·2	40·3	31·8	39·0	24·1
	1962	pence	33·8	34·0	29·4	35·5	23·4
	1963	pence	30·4	33·7	28·9	34·2	23·5
	1964	pence	n/a	n/a	n/a	34·0	22·7
11. Utilisation of aircraft	1958	hours per day	8·07	4·59	6·67	4·78	6·78
	1959	hours per day	7·73	4·54	6·19	5·09	5·92
	1960	hours per day	7·12	4·75	6·36	5·45	5·07
	1961	hours per day	6·30	5·46	6·35	5·10	6·74
	1962	hours per day	6·12	4·44	6·27	4·71	5·33
	1963	hours per day	6·52	4·74	6·57	5·40	6·84
	1964	hours per day	n/a	n/a	n/a	5·60	n/a
12. C.T.M's per employee	1958	Number	23,500	15,100	24,700	15,700	20,600
	1959	Number	21,200	13,700	23,300	15,800	23,100
	1960	Number	22,200	19,400	24,400	17,900	31,000
	1961	Number	24,800	17,600	28,100	19,500	36,700
	1962	Number	28,400	18,900	34,300	20,300	43,500
	1963	Number	32,700	21,800	34,900	22,700	45,200
	1964	Number	34,200	25,900	39,300	24,600	48,900
13. Ratio between capital employed and traffic revenue	1958	Capital=1·0 Revenue	1·8	1·1	2·2	1·2	n/a
	1959	Capital=1·0 Revenue	1·5	0·8	2·9	1·2	n/a
	1960	Capital=1·0 Revenue	1·1	0·8	2·1	1·1	n/a
	1961	Capital=1·0 Revenue	0·8	0·6	1·6	0·8	n/a
	1962	Capital=1·0 Revenue	0·8	0·6	1·6	0·8	n/a
	1963	Capital=1·0 Revenue	1·2	0·7	1·5	0·9	n/a
	1964	Capital=1·0 Revenue	1·5	n/a	n/a	0·9	n/a
14. Profit or Loss (excluding income tax, subsidy, interest and dividends, and proceeds on retirement of operating property and equipment)	1958	£ millions	-0·8	-0·7	+0·5	+1·3	-0·1
	1959	£ millions	+0·3	-1·4	+1·0	+3·2	+0·8
	1960	£ millions	-2·1	+1·1	+1·2	+2·7	+1·3
	1961	£ millions	-4·2	-0·7	+0·03	+0·5	4·1·1
	1962	£ millions	+0·9	-1·6	+1·0	+2·7	+2·6
	1963	£ millions	+3·3	-0·4	+1·4	+5·9	+3·3
	1964	£ millions	n/a	n/a	n/a	+4·2	+3·9
15. Item 14 as percentage of item 2	1958	per cent.	-2·2	-2·7	+2·4	+4·1	-0·5
	1959	per cent.	+0·8	-5·8	+4·3	+8·6	+3·5
	1960	per cent.	-4·8	+3·7	+4·4	+6·4	+4·8
	1961	per cent.	-8·8	-2·5	+0·1	+1·1	+3·9
	1962	per cent.	+1·8	-5·9	+2·6	+5·2	+7·9
	1963	per cent.	+5·2	-1·3	+3·3	+9·8	+8·9
	1964	per cent.	n/a	n/a	n/a	+6·4	+8·9

Notes:

( a) The operating costs of TWA on international services only were:

1958: 35·2d.; 1959: 33·8d.; 1960: 27·3d.; 1961: 28·7d.; 1962: 20·5d.; 1963: 19·0d.

( b) Based on operating expenditure excluding additional depreciation written off in 1961–2 in respect of 1961–2, 1962–3, 1963–4 and 1964–5.The effect of adding back such depreciation would be to increase the cost per CTM in these years to 28·0d., 26·0d., 22·9d. and 20·8d. respectively, as shown on BOAC Reports for 1962–63 to 1964–65.

( c) Including £5·5 million of additional depreciation written off in 1961–62.

( d) Excluding £6·7 million of additional depreciation attributable to 1962–63 but written off in 1961–62.

( e) Excluding £2·9 million of additional depreciation attributable to 1963–64 but written off in 1961–62.

( f) Excluding £1·0 million of additional depreciation attributable to 1964–65 but written off in 1961–62.

Sources: Company Reports and ICAO Digests of Statistics.

Bea (Domestic Routes)

asked the Minister of Aviation if he will publish a table showing the profitability of British European Airways' different United Kingdom routes, for the years 1958–59 to 1964–65.

For commercial reasons profits made by British European

					Losses on Scottish Highlands and Islands services	Approximate losses on all Domestic routes	Groups of Domestic routes which made profits during the year
					(£000)	(£000)
1958–59	…	…	…	…	335	1,700	None
1959–60	…	…	…	…	250	700	London-Scotland; London-Belfast
1960–61	…	…	…	…	280	700	London-Scotland, London-Belfast
1961–62	…	…	…	…	540	2,700	None
1962–63	…	…	…	…	333	2,800	None
1963–64	…	…	…	…	148	1,100	Midlands to Scotland; Irish Sea
1964–65	…	…	…	…	167	1,400	None

Board Of Trade

Rhodesia

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will list the financial effects likely to be felt in Great Britain as a result of measures taken in respect of Rhodesia.

It would be quite impracticable to isolate these effects for the purpose of compiling such a list.

Rolls Razor, Ltd

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he intends to publish in full the findings of the Benson investigation into the Rolls Razor affair.

The report of the inspectors appointed by the Board of Trade to investigate the affairs of Rolls Razor, Ltd. was received on 30th November. A decision as to the timing of publication, which would be in full, will be made as soon as possible.

Ministry Of Health

Diabetics (Disposable Needles)

asked the Minister of Health (1) what would be the approximate total additional cost per annum of supplying National Health Service diabetic patients below the age of 14 years,

Airways on particular routes are not published. In its Annual Reports B.E.A. quote figures for its losses on Scottish Highlands and Islands Services and approximate figures for its total losses on domestic routes. It also indicates each year groups of domestic routes which have made profits. This information is tabulated below:

who are at home, with disposable instead of ordinary needles;

(2) what would be the approximate total additional cost per annum of supplying all National Health Service diabetic patients who are at home with disposable instead of ordinary needles.

I regret that no reliable estimates of cost can be made but the basic cost of a reusable needle is 4¾d. and of a disposable needle approximately 2d.

Iraq (Royal Air Force Levies)

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what assistance Her Majesty's Government are now giving to former members of the Royal Air Force levies in Iraq.

As a result of the Anglo-Iraq special agreement of April, 1955 (Cmnd. 9544), the Levy Force, raised in Iraq and administered by the Royal Air Force, was disbanded. In recognition of the long and loyal services of the Assyrians in that force Her Majesty's Government helped them to resettle in Iraq and encouraged the foundation of the Habbaniyah Co-operative Building Society with the object of providing houses for former members of the levies.In 1958 developments beyond the Society's control caused the withdrawal of finance promised to the Society from Iraq funds, and placed it in a critical position in which it could not meet contractual obligations already entered into. Because of their moral obligations to the Society, Her Majesty's Government accepted responsibility for certain of the Society's liabilities to the British Bank of the Middle East incurred in that situation. It is now proposed to discharge such liability by the payment of £44,006 to the British Bank of the Middle East, and Parliament will in due course be asked to vote that amount by means of a Supplementary Estimate. In the meantime an advance will be obtained from the Civil Contingencies Fund.

Overseas Development

Zanzibar (Former Civil Servants)

asked the Minister of Overseas Development whether she will further review the position of former locally employed civil servants of the Government of Zanzibar, many of whom completed years of pensionable service under the Protectorate government, but, subsequent to their dismissal by the revolutionary council, find themselves without either employment or pension.

I am at present considering in consultation with other Departments concerned and with the Government of Tanzania what can be done to assist these people.

Pensions And National Insurance

National Assistance

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance how many people were, at the latest convenient date, in receipt of payments from the National Assistance Board to enable them to pay local rates; and what estimate she has made of the effect on this figure of the provisions of the Rating Bill now before Parliament.

On 7th September, 1965, there were about 1,580,000 people in receipt of payments from the National Assistance Board which took account of their rent and rates. Because the Board's payments will continue normally to take full account of their rate liability these people will in general continue to look to the Board and not to the rate rebate scheme. The provisions of the Rating Bill will therefore have no appreciable effect on their numbers.

Post Office

Charity Stamps

asked the Postmaster-General if he has yet reached a decision on the introduction of a scheme for charity stamps.

Not yet. My inquiries are continuing and I shall make an announcement as soon as possible.

Wireless And Television

Radio Microphones

asked the Postmaster-General whether he is aware that a device called the Micro-Bug copy transmitter can be bought in any ordinary television or radio shop, and that this instrument could be dangerous in the field of blackmail and commercial espionage; whether he will take steps to control the sale of these instruments; and if he will make a statement.

I have seen the Press reports to which my hon. Friend is refering. Certain electronic devices, if improperly used, could represent a serious threat to privacy. I am considering what action can and should be taken and meanwhile have given instructions with regard to radio microphones which are licenced by the Post Office, as follows:

1. A list of those to whom licences for the use of these devices have been issued should come to me.

2. No further licences should be granted without personal authorisation from me.

In addition I have asked that all unlicensed radio microphone devices that come to the attention of the Department should be reported to me personally.

Ministry Of Power

Coal (Production Of Gas)

asked the Minister of Power how much was spent by the National Gas Council and the National Coal Board on research into the production of gas from coal in 1964–65; and if he is satisfied that this expenditure is adequate, in view of the importance of this research to the national economy.

£108,000 by the Gas Council. It is estimated that £22,000 will be spent in 1965 by the British Coal Utilisation Research Association on behalf of the National Coal Board and other sponsors. The answer to the last part of the Question is "Yes".

Petroleum, Liquefied Petroleum And Liquefied Natural Gas (Imports)

asked the Minister of Power what was the total cost of the petroleum, liquefied petroleum and liquefied natural gas imported from abroad for the use of the gas industry in the years ended 31st March, 1960, and 1965.

The Trade Accounts do not identify separately the cost of petroleum and liquefied petroleum gases imported for the use of the gas industry. Imports of liquefied natural gas, which are virtually all for use by the gas industry, have been distinguished in the Accounts only since January, 1965. In the three months January-March, 1965, the value of imports of liquefied natural gas was £1·9 million.

United States Coal Industry (Research)

asked the Minister of Power if he is aware of the advances in the field of research in the extraction of petrol from hydrocarbons in coal and the production of natural gas from coal, made by the United States coal industry; and if he will investigate these methods.

Close co-operation has been established between the National Coal Board and those responsible for planning coal research in the United States, and I am kept informed of the progress of American experiments in this field. I have dealt in my previous Answer with research being carried out in this country into the production of gas from coal; there is no case at present for resuming investigation in this country of oil from coal processes.

Steel

asked the Minister of Power what are the figures for the annual output of crude steel per worker for the period 1954–60 in Japan, Italy and Canada, compared with the United Kingdom.

I regret that no figures showing reliable comparisons are available.

asked the Minister of Power what are the figures of the percentage increase of exports of steel in 1954–60 for Japan, Sweden and the United Kingdom, with relative price increases for the same period.

The Iron and Steel Board has supplied the following figures for the percentage increase in exports:

EXPORTS OF STEEL (E.C.S.C. DEFINITIONS LESS SINGLE WIRE)
('000 metric tons)
Per cent.
		1954	1960	increase, 1954–60
Sweden	…	172·0	510·9	197·0
Japan	…	1,058·3	2,059·7	94·6
United Kingdom	…	2,105·2	2,977·8	41·4

There are no figures available of prices of exports from Japan and Sweden.

Public Building And Works

Departmental Staff

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works what was the number of Ministry of Works staff and the number of staff in the works departments of the Services prior to amalgamation under his Department; and what is the present number.

It was not possible to identify separately those staff in the Service Departments who, before the merger of works organisations, were engaged partly on works services and partly on other duties, and such staff were not transferred to the department. 12,544 non-industrial staff engaged full-time on works services were so transferred on 1st April, 1963, making a total of 22,757. On 1st November, 1965, there were 24,000 non-industrial staff in post in the Department.The increase of 1,243 is attributable to:

335 staff transferred after 1st April 1963;
272 staff to deal with the increased work in connection with research and development and the construction industries;

104 (net) staff on caretaking, custody and messengerial duties (this includes changes arising from seasonal employment);
404 staff on supplies services;
8 staff for building licensing;
797 staff on administrative, establishments, accounting and contracts work, the staff for which were not transferred from the service departments;

offset by a fall of—

677 in staff engaged on works services.

The number of industrial staff in the department on 1st April, 1963, was about 62,000, including about 50,000 transferred from the service departments. The number employed currently is about 59,500, but the number tends to fluctuate and the difference is not significant.

The load of work falling on the Ministry in the same period has increased from a provision of £174 million—including the provision in defence estimates—in 1962–63 to a provision of £246 million in 1965–66 for works services, and front £26 million in 1962–63 to £35 million in 1965–66 for supplies services.

Wales

Conway Valley Water Board (Charges)

asked the Secretary of State for Wales why the water charges in the area controlled by the Conway Valley Water Board have risen by over 50 per cent. since the Board's formation.

On the basis agreed by all its constituent authorities, the new Board is levying charges varying between 10d. and 10s. 2d. in the £ compared with the wide range of 7d. to 2s. 1½d. in the £ charged before regrouping.

Floods (Severn Valley)

asked the Secretary of State for Wales what progress has been achieved in consultations with the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and with the Severn River Board with a view to implementing a scheme for the alleviation of floods in the upper Severn valley.

A draft scheme has been prepared by the Severn River Authority designed to provide protection against a flood such as that of a year ago and this is being discussed by the Authority with representatives of the Newtown Urban District Council on Monday 13th December.

Welsh Books (Grant)

asked the Secretary of State for Wales whether he will seek to give a Government grant for the publishing of Welsh books for adult readers.

A grant for this purpose is already available in the current financial year. I shall make a statement about the future of the grant as soon as possible.

Transport

Motorways (Speed Limits)

asked the Minister of Transport what information he has gained from his studies of the speed limits imposed by, or lack of speed limits in, foreign and Commonwealth countries on roads broadly equivalent to British motorway standards, and of the accident rate on these roads.

The Road Research Laboratory has compared injury accident rates on motorways in Great Britain with those in other countries, and has found broadly, that our rates are higher than in America, where nearly all expressways have speed limits, and lower than in the continent of Europe, where motorways have no general speed limits.

asked the Minister of Transport what arrangements he is making for a scientific study of the effects of the 70 miles per hour speed limit on motorways during the four months of its operation.

The Road Research Laboratory will assess the effect of the experimental 70 m.p.h. speed limit by comparing vehicle speeds and accidents on motorways and other roads before and after the imposition of the limit. Vehicle speeds will be measured at several sites, and trends in accident frequency will be examined, with due allowance for changes in weather, traffic flow and other factors.

Road And Rail Freight (Statistics)

asked the Minister of Transport if he will bring up to date Tables 1, 2(i), 3(i) and 4(i), published in "The Transport Needs of Great Britain in the Next Twenty Years", 1963.

The following tables give such information as is readily avail

TABLE 1
ESTIMATED TON-MILES OF ROAD AND RAIL FREIGHT TRANSPORT
Thousand million ton-miles
			1952	1953	1954	1955	1956	1957	1958
Rail
Coal and Coke	…	…	10·4	10·7	10·5	10·2	10·2	9·9	8·9
Iron and Steel	…	…	3·5	3·7	3·5	3·6	3·8	3·7	3·0
General Goods	…	…	8·5	8·4	8·1	7·6	7·4	7·3	6·5
Total rail†	…	…	22·4	22·8	22·1	21·4	21·4	20·9	18·4
Road
Total—as in Report	…	…	18·3	18·7	19·5	21·1	21·1	20·8	23·1
Revised^*	…	…	18·8	19·7	21·1	23·0	23·2	22·9	25·2
Road and Rail
Total—as in Report	…	…	40·7	41·5	41·6	42·5	42·5	41·7	41·5
Revised^*	…	…	41·2	42·5	43·2	44·4	44·6	43·8	43·6

Thousand million ton-miles
					1959	1960	1961	1962	1963	1964
Rail
Coal and Coke	…	…	…	…	8·0	8·1	7·7	7·3	7·8	7·5
Iron and Steel	…	…	…	…	3·1	3·6	3·1	8·8	2·6	3·2
General Goods	…	…	…	…	6·6	6·9	6·8	8·8	5·0	5·3
Total rail†	…	…	…	…	17·7	18·7	17·6	16·1	15·4†	16·0†
Road
Total—as in Report	…	…	…	…	24·8	26·6	27·8
Revised^*	…	…	…	…	28·1	30·1	32·3	33·6	35·0	38·5
Road and Rail
Total—as in Report	…	…	…	…	42·6	45·3	45·4
Revised^*	…	…	…	…	45·8	48·8	49·9	49·7	50·4†	54·5†
Notes:
^* These revisions reflect results derived from the Ministry's 1962 Survey of Road Goods Transport, not available at the time the original estimates were made (footnote to para. 20 of Report refers).
† Includes up to 1962, and excludes from 1963, free-hauled traffic on revenue-earning trains, amounting to about 1,000 million ton miles in 1963.

TABLE 2(i)
COAL
SUMMARY OF PAST CHANGES
	Average 1952–1954	1960	Average annual percentage change 1952–4–1960	1964	Average annual percentage change 1960–1964
Total despatches of coal available for transport from pits and opencast sites (million tons)^*	194	182	-0·9	182	—
Rail Traffic
Total revenue carryings of coal and coke (million tons)^*	173	148	-2·2	147	-0·1
Average length of haul (miles)	56	52		51
Estimated revenue ton miles (million)	9,790	7,620	-3·6	7,470	-0·4
Road Traffic
Coal despatched from pits and opencast sites by road (million tons)^*	26	38	+5·6	36	-1·1
^* Excluding colliery consumption, miners' coal and railways' own consumption.

able to bring up to date the tables in the Report:

TABLE 3(i)
IRON AND STEEL: PRINCIPAL MATERIALS
SUMMARY OF PAST CHANGES
				Average 1952–1954	1960	Average annual percentage change 1952–4–1960	1964	Average annual percentage change 1960–1964
Consumption (million tons)
Iron ore	…	…	…	26·8	33·2	+3·1	33·9	+0·4
Limestone, dolomite, etc.	…	…	…	4·6	6·1	+4·1	5·6	-1·7
Scrap	…	…	…	7·4	9·9	+4·3	10·4	+1·0
Pig Iron^*	…	…	…	4·8	4·6	-0·6	3·7	-4·3
Semi-manufactures	…	…	…	8·3	12·1	+5·4	13·5	+2·2
Total of above	…	…	…	51·9	65·9	+3·5	67·1	+0·4
Rail carryings (million tons)
Iron ore	…	…	…	16·0	18·0	+1·7	19·8	+1·9
Lime and Limestone	…	…	…	7·1	8·1	+1·9	6·1	-5·5
Scrap	…	…	…	6·6	6·8	+0·4	6·0	-2·5
Pig iron	…	…	…	4·0	3·1	-3·6	2·2	-6·6
Semi-manufactures	…	…	…	5·0	5·2	+0·6	4·2	-4·2
Total of above	…	…	…	38·7	41·2	+0·9	38·3	-1·4
^*Excluding hot metals.

TABLE 4(i)
IRON AND STEEL FINISHED PRODUCTS
SUMMARY OF PAST CHANGES
	Average 1952–1954	1960	Average annual percentage change 1952–4–1960	1964	Average annual percentage change 1960–1964
Deliveries of iron castings and finished steel (million tons)	17·5	22·7	+3·8	24·5	+1·5
Rail Traffic
Revenue carryings of iron and steel products (million tons)	9·9	9·7	-0·3	10·4	+1·4

Shipping

London Docks (Export Traffic)

asked the Minister of Transport if he will publish up-to-date figures for British export traffic arriving by road and rail at London docks given in the "Third Report of the Ports Efficiency Committee 1956", paragraph 15; and if he will publish similar figures for the years 1954 to 1964 for the other major ports for which figures are available.

The figures for export traffic handled by the Port of London Authority over its quays in 1964 are:

Total 2,586,000 tons
Railborne—305,000 tons (12 per cent.) (including traffic carried on railway road vehicles).
Roadborne—2,281,000 tons (88 per cent.).

Similar figures are not readily available for other ports, but I will write to my hon. Friend.

Roads

Ramsey-Harwich Town (Route)

asked the Minister of Transport what action has been taken to provide an alternative route to Harwich Town, which avoids Dovercourt town centre, especially for heavy traffic approaching from Ramsey; and when such an alternative route is likely to be completed.

It is for the Essex County Council, as the highway authority and local planning authority concerned, to consider such a route first. No formal proposals have so far been put forward.

Ramsey-Harwich Town (Traffic Density)

asked the Minister of Transport how much the traffic density from Ramsey to Harwich has increased in each of the last five years.

4,550 passenger car units a day were recorded in 1965. No figures are available for earlier years.

Railways

Freight Train Operations

asked the Minister of Transport if he will publish figures comparable over time for British Railways freight train operations for the years 1952 to

	1952	1953	1954	1955	1956	1957	1958
Freight: Receipts (£ million)
Total	250·5	263·1	272·8	274·2	284·1	288·5	259·1
Coal and Coke	101·7	109·0	116·0	119·2	126·4	128·0	122·2
Iron and Steel	148·9	154·1	156·9	155·1	157·6	160·5	136·9
Other
Net ton miles^*(thousand million)
Total	22·4	22·8	22·1	21·4	21·5	20·9	18·4
Coal and Coke	10·4	10·7	10·5	10·2	10·2	9·9	8·9
Iron and Steel	12·0	12·1	11·6	11·2	11·2	11·0	9·5
Other
Average receipt per net ton mile (pence)
Coal and Coke	2·35	2·44	2·65	2·81	2·91	3·11	3·28
Iron and Steel	2·07	3·09	3·25	3·33	3·37	3·50	3·46
Other
Average length of haul (miles)
Coal and coke	56·3	56·9	56·3	57·1	56·8	55·3	54·6
Iron and Steel	105·4	105·7	105·5	103·4	103·2	102·3	105·9
Other

		1959	1960	1961	1962	1963	1964
Freight: Receipts (£ million)
Total	…	241·1	247·3	236·8	235·7	235·4	233·0
Coal and Coke	…	108·9	108·6	104·8	103·2	107·9	102·5
Iron and Steel	…	132·2	138·7	132·0	34·9	34·4	39·5
Other	…	132·2	138·7	132·0	97·6	93·1	91·1
Net ton miles^* (thousand million)
Total	…	17·7	18·7	17·6	16·1	15·4	16·0
Coal and Coke	…	8·0	8·1	7·7	7·3	7·8	7·5
Iron and Steel	…	9·7	10·5	9·8	8·8	2·6	3·2
Other	…	9·7	10·5	9·8	8·8	5·0	5·3
Average receipt per net ton mile (pence)
Coal and Coke	…	3·27	3·22	3·25	3·39	3·32	3·29
Iron and Steel	…	3·27	3·16	3·22	3·61	3·15	2·93
Other	…	3·27	3·16	3·22	3·61	4·49	4·12
Average length of haul (miles)	…	52·0	51·5	50·4	48·3	51·5	50·7
Iron and Steel	…	108·3	105·0	106·4	97·3	66·6	70·3
Other	…	108·3	105·0	106·4	97·3	112·8	114·6
Note:
^*Excludes freight by passenger trains. Until 1962 includes free-hauled traffic on revenue-earning trains, but not that on departmental trains. From 1963 onwards, excludes all free-hauled traffic, amounting to about 1,000 million ton miles in 1963.

Ministry Of Defence

Admiralty Building (Intruder)

asked the Secretary of State for Defence (1) if he will institute a full inquiry into the circumstances in which Frank Bonney was able recently to enter the Admiralty unchallenged on two occasions, to remain there for several hours, and to gain access to the roof of the Admiralty and to the roof of the Citadel, where his footprints were found;

1964 showing receipts, net ton miles, average receipts for net ton miles and the average length of haul for coal and coke, iron and steel, and other traffic, respectively.

Due to changes in accounting and statistical classifications, figures for iron and steel comparable to those for 1963 and 1964 are not available for the earlier years. The information available is as follows:(2) by what authority it was stated by the Admiralty that Frank Bonney had been inside the Admiralty for only a short time.

A full inquiry into the circumstances was put in hand, with C.I.D. assistance, as soon as Bonney was discovered. This inquiry established that he had not remained inside the building for several hours. When apprehended, Bonney stated that he had been on the roof of the Citadel until daybreak, that is, 6.30 a.m. or so, and this is consistent with the information obtained through our inquiries. He was apprehended at 7.40 a.m. It follows from this that he must have been in the building for only a relatively short time before being apprehended. He had no access to classified information of any kind.

Raf Pilots (Sudan)

asked the Secretary of State for Defence whether he will give an assurance that Royal Air Force pilots loaned to the Sudan Government for training purposes only have not taken part in active operations in the Southern Sudan, such as air drop of supplies or sorties against the local population.

Royal Air Force pilots on loan to the Sudanese Air Force have always been instructed not to take part in any armed operations carried out by the Sudanese forces or in any missions directed against the local population. Although on occasions in the past they have taken part in supply drops, apart from their primary training rôle they may now engage only in routine transport flights between recognised civil airfields.

Defence Expenditure

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what proportion of gross national product has been devoted to defence expenditure in each year since 1945.

Defence expenditure as a percentage of gross national product is as follows:

Year					Percentage of GNP
1945–46	…	…	…	…	42·9
1946–47	…	…	…	…	17·3
1947–48	…	…	…	…	9·6
1948–49	…	…	…	…	6·9
1949–50	…	…	…	…	6·7
1950–51	…	…	…	…	6·6
1951–52	…	…	…	…	8·5
1952–53	…	…	…	…	9·7
1953–54	…	…	…	…	8·9
1954–55	…	…	…	…	8·9
1955–56	…	…	…	…	8·1
1956–57	…	…	…	…	8·1
1957–58	…	…	…	…	7·3
1958–59	…	…	…	…	71
1959–60	…	…	…	…	6·8
1960–61	…	…	…	…	6·9
1961–62	…	…	…	…	6·9
1962–63	…	…	…	…	6·9
1963–64	…	…	…	…	6·6
1964–65	…	…	…	…	6·6

The above percentages are based on expenditure within the Defence Budget. On N.A.T.O. definitions they would be increased by 0·3 (1964–65) to 0·7 according to the year.

Education And Science

Minor Works Programme (West Suffolk)

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will give the figures of the minor works programme for the West Suffolk Education Authority for the years 1964–65, 1965–66, and 1966–67.

The programme allocation was £50,000 for 1964–65 and £75,000 for 1965–66. The programme for 1966–67 has yet to be announced.

Deaf Children

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many deaf children of primary and secondary school age, respectively, attend the following schools, and how many of these are the responsibility of the Essex and Hertfordshire County Council, respectively, namely, William Morris School for the Deaf, Waltham Forest, West Ham School for the Deaf, Newham,

School	Number of deaf pupils aged 11 or below^*	Number placed by		Number of deaf pupils aged 12 or over^*	Number placed by
		Essex	Herts		Essex	Herts
William Morris†	17	2	—	4	1	—
West Ham†	39	7	—	20	5	—
Tewin Water‡	—	—	—	—	—	—
Blanche Neville†	31	—	6	20	—	1
Nutfield Priory	5	—	2	73	1	4
Royal School, Margate	84	—	3	74	2	1
East Anglian	40	5	—	37	4	—
Notes
^* As at January, 1965.
† Partially hearing pupils also admitted.
‡ This school caters for partially hearing pupils only. Woodford School is an independent primary school for deaf and partially hearing pupils. Its returns do not distinguish between the two categories.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science when he will implement the plans to convert the present William Morris School for the Deaf, Waltham Forest, and the West Ham School for the Deaf, Newham, into a primary and secondary school, respectively; and what he expects the respective rolls to be in each case.

The educational building programme for 1966–67 provides for a new primary school for about 90 pupils to replace the William Morris School and for the conversion of West Ham School into a secondary school, with a separate nursery unit. The number of senior pupils at West Ham School will depend upon numbers staying beyond the age of 16. Up to that age, there are expected to be about 50 pupils, organised in classes of not more than 6 or 7 each.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many peripatetic teachers of the deaf serve each of the following London boroughs, namely, Newham, Redbridge, Waltham Forest, Barking, Havering and Haringey; and how many serve the Essex County Council.

Lewin Water School for the Partially Hearing, Welwyn, Hertfordshire, Blanche Neville School for the Deaf, Haringey, Nutfield Priory Secondary School for the Deaf, Redhill, Surrey, Royal Margate School for the Deaf, Kent, East Anglian School for the Deaf, Gorleston, Norfolk, and Woodford School for Deaf Children, Woodford Green, Essex.

Following is the information for the special schools:

Local education authorities' returns giving this information are made annually. The first returns from the new London boroughs are not due until February, 1966. As to Essex, I would refer my hon. Friend to my reply to him on 30th April last on services for deaf and partially-hearing pupils in that county.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) how many children attend, what vacancies exist and what is the waiting list at the partially-hearing units at each of the following schools, namely, Kings-brook Junior School, Bedford, Mayfield Junior School, Cambridge, Sedley Infant School, Cambridge, St. Albans County Primary School, Dartford, Woodlands County Primary School, Gillingham, Fairview County Primary School, Giilingham, Hitchen Road County Primary School, Luton, Leagrave Infant School, Luton, Glebe County Infants School, Rayleigh, Prince Avenue Primary School, Southend, Mobbsbury Infant School and Junior Mixed School, Stevenage, Pemberton Junior Mixed School, St. Albans, Alban Wood Infant School, Garston, Devonshire Hill Primary School, Tottenham, and Markfield Senior School, Tottenham;

(2) if he will indicate the proposed increase or decrease in places estimated at the partially-hearing units at each of the following schools, namely, Kings-brook Junior School, Bedford, Mayfield Junior School, Cambridge, Sedley Infant School, Cambridge, St. Albans County Primary School, Dartford, Woodlands County Primary School, Gillingham, Fairview County Primary School, Gillingham, Hitchen Road County Primary School, Luton, Leagrave Infant School, Luton, Glebe County Infants School, Rayleigh, Prince Avenue Primary School, Southend, Mobbsbury Infant School and Junior Mixed School, Stevenage, Pemberton Junior Mixed School, St. Albans, Alban Wood Infant School, Garston, Devonshire Hill Primary School, Tottenham, and Markfield Senior School, Tottenham.

This information is not available within my Department.

Women Teachers

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will give the number of women teachers trained each year for the past 10 years and the number leaving teaching in the same period; and what action he is taking to encourage teachers to remain in or return to the profession.

The following table gives the revelant information for the last two available years. Figures for earlier years have been published in "Statistics of Education". Some of the available statistics do not extend earlier than 1958–59.Apart from the loss of women teachers through normal retirement, the current high wastage is mainly explained by young women leaving the schools upon marriage or to start a family. I am encouraging these teachers to return to teaching as soon as their family responsibilities allow them to do so, by annual Press campaigns and other publicity and by such measures as increasing the opportunities for part-time service and facilitating the provision of nursery schools and classes for their young children.

	1962–63	1965–64
	Academic years
Women students successfully completing initial courses of training^*	11,192	12,440
	Years ending 31st March
Entry and wastage of women trained graduates and qualified non-graduates in maintained primary and secondary schools†
(a) Entrants	4,029‡	11,827
(b) Re-entrants§	6,665	6,069
(c) Transfers from other grant-aided schools and establishments	309	259
(d) Total entry	11,003	18,155
(e) Wastage\|\|	15,912	16,169
(f) Net increase (+) or decrease (-) in numbers (=(d)-(e))	-4,909	+1,986
Notes
^* Students completing their training in the Summer term of a given academic year normally appear as "entrants" for the subsequent year ending 31st March.
† Including a small number of untrained non-graduates.
‡ In 1962–63 the number of women entrants was abnormally low because of the extension in 1960 of the training course at the colleges of education from two to three years, which reduced the total output of trained women teachers in the academic year 1961–62 to 4,086.
§ i.e., teachers returning to maintained schools after a break in service extending over one or more previous annual counts.
\|\| Including transfers to other grant-aided schools and establishments (844 in 1963–64).

Teacher Training Colleges

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science to what extent teacher training colleges are overcrowded, having regard to the total number of places compared with the total number of teachers receiving training; and what plans he has for further expansion.

The expansion plans now being carried out by the colleges involve both the more intensive use of college teaching facilities and the building of additional accommodation of other kinds needed for the increased student numbers. The colleges have made great efforts to raise their intakes these last few years, and many of them have substantially increased their numbers in advance of completion of the building work authorised for their expansion plans. It is not possible to make any national assessment of the amount of intensive use of existing facilities that these efforts have involved.The Government announced in February last their decision to increase teacher training places in England and Wales to 111,000 by 1973–74. This will require considerable capital expenditure over the next few years but, more immediately, I am looking forward to a significant expansion of student numbers as a result of my appeal to the colleges last July to make appropriate arrangements to increase their output of trained teachers through the more productive use of college facilities.

ESTIMATED NUMBERS OF EMPLOYEES (EMPLOYED AND UNEMPLOYED) IN THE AREAS OF EMPLOYMENT EXCHANGES IN MONTGOMERYSHIRE
		Mid-1963			Mid-1964^*
		Males	Females	Total	Males	Females	Total
Machynlleth	…	1,130	620	1,750	1,120	580	1,700
Newtown	…	2,880	1,730	4,610	3,130	1,720	4,850
Welshpool	…	3,470	1,740	5,210	3,450	1,810	5,260
Total-Montgomeryshire	…	7,480	4,090	11,570	7,700	4,110	11,810
^* Latest available.

NUMBERS OF PERSONS REGISTERED AS UNEMPLOYED AT THE MACHYNLLETH, NEWTOWN AND WELSHPOOL EMPLOYMENT EXCHANGES AND THE NEWTOWN YOUTH EMPLOYMENT OFFICE AT OCTOBER, 1963, 1964 AND 1965
				Males	Females	Total	Percentage rate
					14th October, 1963
Machynlleth	…	…	…	34	25	59	3·3
Newtown	…	…	…	114	57	171	3·6
Welshpool	…	…	…	82	21	103	2·0
Total-Montgomeryshire	…	…	…	230	103	333	2·9
					12th October, 1964
Machynlleth	…	…	…	24	17	41	2·3
Newtown	…	…	…	79	43	122	2·6
Welshpool	…	…	…	61	15	76	1·5
Total-Montgomeryshire	…	…	…	164	75	239	2·0
					11th October, 1965
Machynlleth	…	…	…	30	17	47	2·8
Newtown	…	…	…	71	27	98	2·0
Welshpool	…	…	…	56	15	71	1·4
Total-Montgomeryshire	…	…	…	157	59	216	1·8

Ministry Of Labour

Montgomeryshire

asked the Minister of Labour if he will give the number of employed and unemployed workers, male and female, registered at the employment exchanges in Montgomeryshire on 1st October 1963, 1964 and 1965, respectively.

Data for employees are available only for mid-year. Following is the information:

Volume 721: debated on Friday 3 December 1965