asked the Minister of Public Building and Works if he will arrange for a public inquiry before a final decision on the redevelopment of Whitehall is undertaken.

The redevelopment of Whitehall is too wide a subject for a public inquiry. Opportunities for inquiries into particular aspects of the plan will be considered as proposals develop, for example, a public inquiry on the Broad Sanctuary area is to open on 10th May.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works what are the amounts that have been spent on Service or Government buildings, barracks, installations, airfields, docks, etc., since 1945 in Gibraltar, Malta, Cyprus, Singapore, Simonstown, Gan, Aden, Hong Kong, Kenya and in Australia, respectively.

Complete information is not available in the form requested and such information as exists could not be compiled without an inordinate expenditure of time and effort. I am, however, writing to the hon. Member to tell him what information can be supplied.

asked the Postmaster-General if he will now give additional details of the stamps to be issued, together with their release date and values, for the remainder of 1966 and 1967.

In addition to those that I have already announced, the following special postage stamps will be issued this year:

15th July: A set in block form of four different 4d. stamps depicting British wild birds.

12th September: A set of four stamps in the 4d., 6d., 1s. 3d. and 1s. 6d. denominations depicting British technology.

1st December: A set of Christmas stamps in denominations to be announced later.

I am not yet in a position to give details of the new issue of permanent-series stamps or of the 1967 programme of special issues.The commemorative stamps to be issued on 14th October for the 900th Anniversary of the Battle of Hastings will be in three denominations—4d., 6d. and 1s. 3d.

asked the Postmaster-General what steps he proposes to take to prevent the operation of two new pirate radio stations, Radio England and Britain Radio, scheduled to start broadcasting illegally by the end of April.

There is nothing I can do at present to prevent these two stations from broadcasting. That is the problem. However, as the House knows, legislation to give us certain necessary powers will be introduced by the Government as soon as the legislative timetable permits.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what diplomatic initiatives he proposes to take in South Vietnam in order to end the conflict there.

The Government are ready to take advantage of any opportunity to bring peace nearer realisation, but because the North Vietnamese still reject reasonable negotiations, early progress is unlikely.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether, in view of the criticisms of the impracticability of the proposed regulations governing safety cabs on tractors, he will now revise those draft regulations.

The closing date for comments on the proposals for regulations was 14th April, 1966, but a short extension of time has been granted to certain organisations. When this period has ended, all the comments will be carefully studied. Only then will a decision be made on the final form of the regulations.

asked the Minister of Aviation if he will extend the scheme for grants to householders to meet the cost of soundproofing, announced on 10th March 1965, to householders in the neighbourhood of Manchester Airport, Ringway.

No. The powers conferred by the Airports Authority Act 1965, under which the present scheme is made, apply only to dwellings near aerodromes owned or managed by the British Airports Authority who bear the cost of the grants.

asked the Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations what invitation the British Government have received to support the Milton Margai Memorial Trust Fund which has been launched by the Sierra Leone Government; and what reply they have sent.

Yes, an invitation has been received. I propose that we should contribute £1,000, which will be presented on our behalf by the British High Commissioner at Freetown.Parliament will be asked in due course to vote the necessary Supplementary Estimate. In the meantime an advance is being obtained from the Civil Contingencies Fund.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will publish his reply to the proposals for inspection of correspondence colleges submitted to him through the National Extension College by various bodies.

The National Extension College has been informed that I am awaiting the publication shortly of the report of the Committee under the chairmanship of Dr. C. E. Gurr, formerly Chief Education Officer for Middlesex, containing the scheme for the establishment of a national accrediting body which the main correspondence college interests agreed last year to prepare for my consideration. Interested bodies would be given the opportunity of commenting on the scheme before I decided whether to participate in it by nominating the chairman and the other independent members.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement about the division of Richard Thomas and Baldwin's capital as between loan capital and ordinary shares.

Yes. With the agreement of the Iron and Steel Holding and Realisation Agency and the Treasury, Richard Thomas and Baldwins Ltd. has increased its issued share capital to £100 million by conversion of £39 million of the Agency's loan to the company into an equivalent amount of ordinary share capital. A similar conversion of £50 million was authorised in 1963. At 2nd October, 1965, the company's loan capital, excluding temporary borrowing, amounted to £140 million, compared with share capital and reserves of £83·8 million. The object of the present change is to bring the gearing of Richard Thomas and Baldwin's capital more into line with that of other major steel companies in the interval before they are nationalised.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many claims for relief under Section 159 of the Income Tax Act 1952 were made and allowed in the year ended 5th April 1964; what was the approximate average amount of the sums on which tax relief was claimed; and what was the approximate cost of the relief to the Exchequer.

Detailed information about claims under this Section is not available, but it is estimated that the number of claims allowed in 1963–64 was under 100,000 and that the cost to the Exchequer was less than £¼ million.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will remove Purchase Tax on sports gear.

I cannot anticipate my right hon. Friend's Budget Statement.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much revenue is obtained by the tax on musical instruments.

About £1 million a year.

asked the Minister of Health when he expects to receive the report of the Sainsbury Committee of Inquiry into the relationship of the pharmaceutical industry with the National Health Service.

During next year; I cannot yet be more precise.

		Estimated Cost £ million	Estimated Completion Date
Ashington Hospital	Second phase of development	1.4	February, 1967
Darlington Memorial Hospital	First phase of development	1.7	April, 1968
	Staff accommodation	0.2	July, 1967
Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Gateshead	First phase of development	0.4	July, 1967
Newcastle General Hospital	Additional maternity accommodation	0.2	May, 1967
North Tees General Hospital, Stockton-on-Tees	First phase of new hospital	2.2	February, 1968
Sunderland General Hospital	Extension of the maternity department	0.1	September, 1966

asked the Minister of Health what funds have been allocated by him during the financial year 1965–66 to the development of medical apparatus and instruments.

By me, about £250,000; but expenditure, not separately identifiable, will also have been incurred by hospital authorities.

asked the Minister of Health what is the number of vacant beds in hospitals under the National Health Service; and what steps are being taken to secure nursing staff so that the full hospital services can be made available to the public.

Current figures are not available centrally. Recruitment is the responsibility of the hospital authorities and I am continuing the national nursing publicity campaign which is designed to support their efforts. The response to the campaign has so far been encouraging.

asked the Minister of Health if he will give particulars of all hospital building projects in the North-East development districts costing over £100,000 for which contracts had been let but were not yet started, or where work was under way on 31st March 1966, including the estimated cost and date of completion in each instance.

The schemes, all of which are in progress, are as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether his Department plans to demolish air-raid shelters erected during the last war that are now eyesores and where they are standing on land required for building purposes; and if he will make a statement.

It is the Government's general policy to retain existing shelters which might afford worth-while protection in any future war, but demolition at public expense is authorised in special circumstances. My right hon. Friend is always prepared to allow demolition if the shelters stands in the way of approved development, or if there are other good grounds for removal such as structural defect or danger to health.

asked the Minister of Labour how many places were available for training and retraining at the training centres in the North-East development districts during the year ended 31st March 1966.

In the three Government Training Centres in the Northern Region there were 645 training places on 12th April 1965 and 713 training places on 12th March 1966.

asked the Minister of Transport if she will reconsider her refusal to approve a pedestrian crossing on Finney Lane, Heald Green, in the light of correspondence sent to her by the hon. Member for Cheadle.

No. The number of vehicles and pedestrians still does not justify a crossing on Finney Lane.

asked the Minister of Transport on how many days this year the main road from Huddersfield via Standedge to Lancashire has been blocked by snow; and what instructions she has given to the West Riding County Council to ensure adequate preparations are available to deal with this problem.

On 2nd April the road was blocked from 1 a.m. until 6 p.m. when single line working became possible. It was finally cleared by the evening of 3rd April. The instructions given to the county council for the winter maintenance of the A62 cover the technical and operational standards which need to be achieved, including advice on the use of salt to prevent the formation of ice and to facilitate snow clearing operations.

asked the President of the Board of Trade (1) whether he will state for the year ended 31st March 1966 the number of applications for building grants from firms in North-East development districts; the number approved; the estimated cost and estimated employment; the number of applications rejected; and the number under consideration; (2) whether he will state for the year ended 31st March 1966 the number of applications for plant and machinery grants from firms in the North-East development districts; the number approved; the estimated amount and employment; the number of applications rejected; and the number under consideration.

The information requested is as follows:

YEAR ENDED 31ST MARCH, 1966
	Building Grants	Plant and Machinery Grants
Number of applications from firms in North East Development Districts	537	778
Number approved*	310	573
Number rejected or withdrawn…*	192	211
Number under consideration at 31st March, 1966*	446	434
Estimated value of offers made in the period*	£3·6m.	£2·4m.
Estimated additional employment in respect of offers made in the period*	17,300	18,800
It should be noted that the numbers of applications and the estimated employment figures given above will be duplicated where firms have been offered assistance in both forms.
* Includes applications made in previous years.