asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he will now make an order delegating power to the Cornwall Fisheries Committee to license shell fishermen.

We are considering whether to confirm the byelaw submitted by the Committee for this purpose in the light of the objections that have been made to it.

asked the Minister of Aviation if he will place in the Library a copy of the survey prepared by his Department on the passenger loading factor in air services between Northern Ireland and Great Britain; and if he will make a statement.

No. The survey contains commercially confidential information and has been prepared for use in discussions between my Department and the Northern Ireland Ministry of Development which are still in progress.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence whether the duties assigned to Her Majesty's ships on the Middle East station include preventing, deterring or dissuading vessels from entering the port of Beira.

I would refer the right hon. Gentleman to the statement which my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister made about blockade action in his speech on 21st December last.

asked the Minister of Health what was the entry to nursing administrative grades in hospitals in each of the past five years.

The information is not available in the form requested, but probably about 3,700 of those holding nursing and midwifery administrative posts in July, 1964, entered their current grade in the previous five years.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will call for reports from chief constables in immigrant areas on the incidence of physical assault and robbery with violence against immigrants.

On the information at his disposal my right hon. Friend has no reason to believe that the incidence of physical assault and robbery with violence against immigrants is greater than the incidence of such offences against any other section of the community.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government when he expects to publish the report by the committee under the chairmanship of Sir John Maud concerning the payment of councillors.

I understand that an interim report on allowances for local authority members is expected to be ready in a few weeks' time.

asked the Minister of Labour what has been the percentage increase in the cost of living since 16th October, 1964, to the nearest convenient date, and the annual rate of increase during this period.

The retail prices index rose by 5·7 per cent. between 13th October, 1964, and 14th December, 1965. The annual rate of increase during this period was 4·9 per cent.

asked the Minister of Labour if he will give the number of men and women employed in the Mexborough and Wombwell employment exchange areas, respectively, for each of the past 10 years.

asked the Minister of Labour whether, in view of Her Majesty's Government's commitment to the principle of equal pay, he intends to put forward proposals for the implementation of this commitment in the discussions he is to have with the Trades Union Congress and the Federation of British Industries; and what these proposals are.

I propose to discuss the whole question of implementation with the Trades Union Congress and the Confederation of British Industry. I think that it would be inappropriate for me to make a statement in advance of these discussions.

asked the Minister of Labour whether he will publish in the OFFICIAL

asked the Minister of Labour if he will state the number of men and women now registered as unemployed in the Mexborough and Wombwell employment exchange areas, respectively, and the comparable figures for 12 months ago.

The numbers of persons registered as unemployed in the areas of the Mexborough and Wombwell Employment Exchanges at the two dates are as follows:

Estimates of the numbers of employees in employment at midyear based on National Insurance cards exchanged in the area are as follows:REPORT a table which sets out the percentage increase in average weekly earnings in the year ended October, 1964, and in each of the preceding eight years.

Following is the information:

asked the Minister of Overseas Development what are the qualifications required for the appointment of local government training officer in Bechuanaland; what salary is offered for this post; and if he will seek the views of the Minister of Local Government in Bechuanaland regarding the candidates before an appointment is made.

The local government training officer must have practical experience in public administration as well as the ability to plan and conduct in-service training in central and local government administration, local government finance and accounting, and law. He will also be responsible for supervising all arrangements for the external training of local government officers. The salary, inclusive of inducement allowance, is in the scale £1,239 to £2,556. The Government of Bechuanaland is consulted before any appointment is made.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many local authorities in Scotland now operate differential rent rebate schemes for their houses.

In 1965 such schemes were operated by 88 local authorities who together owned 78 per cent. of all council houses in Scotland. The Annual Rent Return for Scotland, shortly to be presented to Parliament, will give more information about these schemes, which are within the sole discretion of the local authority concerned.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many students obtained teaching diplomas from colleges

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what has been the entry to nursing administrative grades in hospitals in each of the past five years.

The information is not available in the form requested but probably about 400 of those holding nursing administrative positions in 1964 entered their current grade in the previous five years.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the increase in the number and value of prescriptions dispensed in Scotland in the first year following the abolition of prescription charges, compared with the previous year.

Figures for the full year since prescription charges were abolished are not yet available but for the 10-month period from 1st February to 30th November they were as follows:of education last year; how many are expected to do so this year; and what is the estimated number for next year.

The total number of students who obtained diplomas or certificates from colleges of education in 1965 was 3,269. For 1966 the number is expected to be about 3,580. The number for 1967 cannot be estimated accurately because it is not yet known how many students will enrol this autumn in the one year courses.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland when the decision was made to give priority to the Invergarry-Kyle of Lochalsh road over the Fort William-Mallaig road; and whether he will publish a table showing the traffic considerations which led him to take this decision.

The decision to give priority to the reconstruction of the Invergarry-Kyle trunk road (A. 87) was taken in 1961. The traffic census figures of 1954 and 1961 for what are at present the single-carriageway sections of A.87 and the Fort William-Mallaig trunk road (A.830) are as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he will publish the details of male teachers' salaries in Scotland for 1st April, 1964, to 15th April, 1965, in the same form as given in the OFFICIAL REPORT of 12th July, 1965.

I would refer the hon. Member to the answer which I gave on 31st January, bringing the figures up to date to April, 1965.

asked the Minister of Transport what is her policy towards the planned distribution and location of petrol filling stations in large urban areas; and if she will make a statement.

This is a matter for local planning authorities. My right hon. Friend has no control over the establishment of petrol filling stations on roads other than trunk roads. On trunk roads each application for a new station is considered for its effect on traffic flow and road safety.

asked the Minister of Technology if he will give an estimate of how many staff the national programming centre will have, showing separately the numbers of systems analysts and programmers, and the salaries being offered for each post.

The National Computing Centre has not yet been formally constituted. The initial organisation and salary scales are being worked out by the director-designate, so I cannot yet say what these will be.

asked the Minister of Transport how many accidents were reported as having occurred on Queensway and Cavendish Way, Hatfield, during 1964, 1965, and to the latest available date this year; and whether she will give figures showing the different categories of these accidents.

The information is as follows:

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the loss in revenue which would be incurred if tax were not levied on the realised gains of unit trusts and investment trusts.

I would refer the hon. Member to the Answer given to my hon. Friend the Member for Heywood and Royton (Mr. Barnett) on 7th February.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish a table showing the number of dictating

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what additional revenue has been gained from Scotland by the increase in fuel duty imposed in his Budget of November, 1964.

The information requested is as follows:

Precise information is not available, but the additional revenue arising from the use of oil for all purposes—including private motoring—in Scotland is estimated to be about £9 million a year.