asked the Minister of Overseas Development if he will make a statement on the contribution being made by projects financed by Great Britain towards the relief of famine in India; and when such projects were started.

The British Government made available in February this year an interest-free loan of £7·5 million to help India with her present food crisis. Since the purpose of this loan was to provide immediate assistance, no part of it was tied to specific projects. In agreement with the Government of India, it will be used towards the foreign exchange costs of shipping emergency supplies of wheat and other foodstuffs from Commonwealth countries, the provision of grain handling equipment for Indian ports and the purchase of commodities of immediate value in helping to deal with the emergency, including pesticides and fertilisers.

In addition, as my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister announced on 26th April, the Government of India have accepted with pleasure our offer to make immediately available as an advance instalment of Britain's aid pledge for 1966–67, loans of £17 million directed to India's pressing economic problems, among which is the food shortage. [HON. MEMBERS: "Too long."] Once again, this money will be immediately available for a wide range of essential imports and not tied to specific projects.

Order. I hope that Ministers will attempt to answer briefly.

asked the Minister of Overseas Development if he will make a statement about the progress of discussions between the British and Kenya Governments regarding the continued valuation and purchase of British-owned farms for African resettlement.

As the hon. Member will recall from the statement which my right hon. Friend's predecessor placed in the Library of the House on 18th November last, a working party was set up after the talks with Kenya Ministers last November to recommend a method of valuation for purchases of agricultural land in Kenya from British loans. The working party, which consisted of representatives of both the British and Kenya Governments, presented its report in the middle of April; the report is now being considered by both Governments. The Kenya Government are now drawing up a programme for the purchase of mixed farms from funds provided by the British Government. The Kenya Ministers of Agriculture and of Finance discussed with my right hon. Friend their ideas for this when they were in London last week. Further discussions on the programme are continuing.

Is the joint Kenya Government-British Government team for the valuation of property now actually effective in Kenya?

It is this body which has reported, and it is that report which is being considered.

asked the Minister of Overseas Development if he will make a statement on the progress of the scheme for the purchase of property from compassionate cases in Kenya.

Under the current scheme, offers of purchase for farms have been accepted in 18 cases. The Kenya authorities are now engaged in valuing about 20 further cases. Unfortunately, valuation has been delayed due to shortage of staff, but I understand that this will be completed in the near future.

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that there is a great deal of frustration at the delay taking place in implementing these schemes and there seems to be a lack of co-operation or co-ordination between the British Government and the Kenya Government? Will he look into this matter seriously, recognising that the valuations offered in compassionate cases are very low indeed?

I recognise that this is a difficult and complicated matter, and I hope that the hon. Gentleman does, too. I assure him that we have the interests of these compassionate cases very much at heart.

Can the hon. Gentleman say what is the basis of valuation of the farms in the compassionate cases?

That is in the report which is now being considered. It has not yet been published.

Will my hon. Friend look into the question of what relationship there is between the prices which are being offered for these lands and the prices which the settlers originally paid for them?

I have no doubt that this is one of the factors which the working party will have taken into account.

asked the Minister of Overseas Development whether he will make a statement about future aid to Nigeria, following his recent visit there.

I am glad to have this opportunity of saying that I was greatly impressed by what I saw of Nigeria's economic development. I intend to continue to support their development programmes. Our programme of technical assistance and supplementation of salaries of certain British personnel will shortly rise to about £2 million per annum, and of the £50 million of capital aid offered to Nigeria since they achieved independence, £21 million remains to be disbursed over the next few years. While I was in Lagos, I announced that Her Majesty's Government would, subject to Parliamentary approval, make an additional loan to Nigeria of £2·356 million.

Did the right hon Gentleman meet any of our technical assistants or V.S.O. people during his visit, and will he confirm that they are doing most valuable work there which is greatly appreciated?

I am most grateful to the hon. Gentleman. I met a large number of them, and it is perfectly true that the work they are doing is greatly appreciated by the Nigerian Government and the Nigerian people.

asked the Minister of Overseas Development how the amount of British Government aid to the territories of the Eastern Caribbean compares with that allocated to other colonies and independent Commonwealth countries; and whether he will estimate when the Tripartite Economic Survey will be completed.

In 1965 British Government aid to the dependent territories of the Eastern Caribbean averaged out at the rate of about £4 4s. per head. For other dependent territories the corresponding average was just under £3 per head and for all independent Commonwealth countries in receipt of aid the figure was just over 3s.

The Tripartite Economic Survey has just completed its work and I understand that its report will be forwarded to the sponsoring Governments shortly.

While I accept that the Eastern Caribbean is not doing at all badly in relation to other territories, may I ask whether the Minister can indicate at this stage what the economic prospects are likely to be for the future in view of the Tripartite Survey? Will there be an improvement?

It is too early for me to say anything about the contents of the Tripartite Survey. I ask the hon. Member to await further information on this point.

How far are the Government entitled to keep making gifts and loans to these Governments when we ourselves are having to borrow money continually from America?

I thought that hon. Members on all sides of the House were agreed that the problem of world poverty is one which we are willing to tackle.

asked the Minister of Overseas Development what was the approximate amount spent last year on projects which were identifiable as being for the extension or promotion of co-operative societies.

It is possible to give a figure for the amount spent on the encouragement of co-operative development only in respect to the provision of experts and to the activities, such as training courses, which are financed n the United Kingdom. This is currently estimated to be in the region of £100,000 per annum.

An unjustifiable amount of labour would be involved in identifying the amount spent on overseas activities since it is mainly contained within aid given in the form of general budgetary support or in support of development plans.

Is there a plan to increase this over the next five years? Is my hon. Friend aware that of all technical assistance this is probably the most helpful at the grass roots?

There is no specific plan for an increase, but my hon. Friend is aware that we are anxious to help the development of co-operatives whenever we can. I agree with him that this is a most important form of technical assistance.

asked the Minister of Overseas Development how many experts in the development of co-operative societies are at present being provided to overseas Governments; and if he will give their names, the type of co-operative advice covered, and posts of duty, in the OFFICIAL REPORT.

Eight experts provided under technical assistance were in post during the past year advising overseas Governments on co-operative questions.

Hear, hear.

Order. It is not worth as long an interruption as that.

I thought for a moment, Mr. Speaker, that you were referring to the Answer, not to the arrival of my hon. Friend the Member for Pontypool (Mr. Abse).

I will, with permission, circulate the information requested in the OFFICIAL REPORT. In addition, there are approximately 45 British officers serving in posts concerned with co-operatives in overseas administrations under the Overseas Service Aid Scheme.

Is my hon. Friend aware that the sartorial elegance of my hon. Friend the Member for Pontypool (Mr. Abse) made it difficult to hear the reply? Will he take into consideration the fact that the I.L.O. has a similar programme to that which he has announced? Will he make representations to his right hon. Friend the Minister of Labour to have representatives from his Department at I.L.O. conventions on co-operatives?

I will bear that suggestion in mind. I recently had a talk with the Director-General of I.L.O. in which these matters of co-operative development were discussed.

asked the Minister of Overseas Development what target he has set, within the context of the five year plan, for the proportion of the national income to be spent on overseas aid and development.

asked the Minister of Overseas Development, in view of the necessity for resolving the balance of payments problems, and in the context of the National Plan, if he will table in the OFFICIAL REPORT the total aid to under-developed countries; what percentage of the budgeted gross national product this will be; how much will be public aid; of the public aid, what proportion will be interest-free grants; how much will be private investment overseas planned for each of the next five years; and whether he will make a statement.

The National Plan states that the size of the aid programme will be reviewed periodically in the light of the progress made in overcoming our economic problems. We have been able to set out a target of £225 million for official aid in the current financial year which is expected to be about 0·7 per cent. of the gross National Product. The UNCTAD target of 1 per cent. of "national income" includes private investment, and this we are meeting.

I cannot forecast what proportion will be grants or interest-free loans nor what the amount of private investment will be during the next five years.

In view of the statement made last week on aid to Indonesia, would my right hon. Friend be willing to launch a campaign in the company of many interested voluntary organisations on the importance of aid and development as a means of helping world stability?

I think that the importance of economic aid as a help to world stability is appreciated on both sides. I shall be glad to discuss the matter with my hon. Friend if he so wishes.

Has the Minister now the power to correlate investment overseas with public aid?

That is dealt with in a later Question.

Can the Minister say whether he is proceeding with the idea of surplus capacity aid—additional aid in cases where the form of the aid is found to be available from surplus capacity in this country?

This is something, which we keep in mind, but on a previous occasion I have explained the difficulties of doing it. We should like to do it but it is not always possible.

asked the Minister of Overseas Development how much of the total overseas aid to underdeveloped countries given by Great Britain in 1965 was in the form of private investment overseas; what was the value of this aid; how this compared with each of the previous three years; and what proposals he has for encouraging commercial investment overseas, designed to give a good return on the capital invested, with a view to bringing about a long-term improvement in the balance of payments.

Official aid was £194 million in 1965. Private investment in developing countries was very approximately £110 million—net of dis-investment—compared with £70 million in 1963 and £85 million in 1964. My primary concern with private investment is in its contribution to development and questions on general issues of trade and financial policy should properly be addressed to my right hon. Friends with major responsibilities in these fields.

Is the Minister satisfied that the balance is right or will it be necessary to concentrate on a greater correlation with private investment overseas?

It is important to get the right balance between these two. There are very many economic problems involved.

Will my hon. Friend bear in mind that while we have this very difficult balance-of-payments problem, development aid is a very serious drain on us? Will he give further consideration to using the surplus capacities of agriculture and industry in this country for this purpose until the drain on our balance of payments has been improved?

These are matters which we have constantly in our mind, but we have to try to strike the right balance between giving the necessary aid to developing countries and protecting our own economic interests.

asked the Minister of Overseas Development what proportion of aid to under-developed countries was tied to British manufactured goods in the last financial year.

Figures for the financial year 1965–66 are not yet available. 43 per cent. of our official bilateral aid disbursed in the calendar year 1965 was wholly tied and another 16 per cent. partly tied. A significant part of the disbursement under technical assistance, pensions and compensation, will also have been spent in the United Kingdom.

Do the figures which the right hon. Gentleman has quoted represent Government forward planning for the future? Does he consider that a good deal of aid to the under-developed countries in respect of services such as fishing boats could be produced from development areas in this country?

The figures which I gave were for the last calendar year, but considerations such as that which the hon. Member raised are very much in our minds and we try to get a synthesis between the interests of the countries we are helping and the economic requirements of the United Kingdom.

Does the Minister think that the figures which he has given to my hon. Friend are satisfactory, par- ticularly in view of the fact that a Brooking's Institute Report showed that in the case of American aid about 90 per cent. was tied? Does he think that we can get away with a lower proportion than the United States in view of our balance-of-payments position?

I think that the balance is about right. We do tie less aid than a number of countries but more than many others. In view of our special responsibilities to many of the independent countries of the world as well as to our dependent territories, I think that the balance is right.

asked the Minister of Overseas Development what plans he has, and what discussions he has had with overseas bodies to create training facilities in Africa for agricultural experts, who are beginning periods of duty in Africa, to familiarise them with the agricultural problems and conditions of the continent.

None, Sir.

Is the Minister aware that experts in temperate agriculture are of limited use in the first few months of their service? As the length of their service is likely to be short, much of this period is likely to be wasted because they do not understand the conditions. Would he not look at the problem again in view of the urgency of the need to avoid wasted time?

I have explained to the hon. Member on an earlier occasion that there are training facilities in Trinidad. I know that this does not satisfy him, but familiarisation with local conditions is effectively achieved by posting to a specific job experts in tropical agriculture who have received their general training at such establishments as the Faculty of Agriculture of the University of The West Indies.

asked the Minister of Overseas Development, how much has been given or promised in aid or loans since October, 1964, to Tanzania, Zambia, and Malawi, respectively.

Since October, 1964, £1·3 million has been promised to Tanzania, £32 million to Malawi—for the period up to 1968—and £16·75 million to Zambia—for the period up to 1970.

Actual disbursements, including technical assistance, between October, 1964, and December, 1965, were about £7 million for Tanzania, £15 million for Malawi and £7·4 million for Zambia. In addition, Britain has so far spent about £7 million on contingency arrangements for asisting Zambia following the Rhodesian I.D.I.

Is the Minister satisfied the Malawi will continue to get its fair share of aid from this country, bearing in mind that consistently and voluntarily she follows a policy of buying British goods wherever possible?

We shall seek to ensure that all the countries to which we have promised help get their fair share.

asked the Minister of Overseas Development if he will take steps, in consultation with the voluntary organisations concerned, to extend the period for which the majority of young qualified volunteers are sent overseas, and to improve their qualifications.

These important questions are constantly reviewed by the Ministry and the voluntary bodies concerned.

Is it not important to review these matters to make sure that British volunteers compare favourably with those from other countries in respect of their qualifications and the length of time they stay to do a job in the countries concerned?

Yes, Sir. This is most important. I think that our volunteers do compare very favourably with volunteers from other countries. But length of service and training are important considerations which we have in mind.

Can my hon. Friend confirm that liaison between his Department and the educational authorities is proceeding in this respect?

Yes. I can assure my hon. Friend that we have constant contact with schools and local education authorities on these matters.

Will the Minister tell us whether there is any evidence whatever for the suggestion which has been made in the Press about the low quality of British volunteers?

The reports in the Press to which my hon. Friend refers have been taken somewhat out of context of the Report on which they are based. I am very well satisfied that our young people compare very favourably with those from other countries.

asked the Minister or Technology what was the percentage change for net export orders for machine tools between the second half of 1965 and the corresponding period in 1964.

Between the second half of 1964 and the corresponding period in 1965 the value of net export orders for machine tools fell by an amount estimated at 16 per cent.

I congratulate the hon. Gentleman on his appointment. As the sponsoring Minister, what does he think accounts for this disturbing fall in machine tool export orders?

I do not think that too many inferences should be drawn from a single set of figures. It is equally relevant that outstanding orders for exports of the machine tool industry at the end of 1965 were only 2 to 3 per cent. lower than at the end of 1964. However, we shall be watching the situation.

asked the Minister of Technology what estimate he has made of the cost of non-atomic work to be carried out by the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority in the years 1966–70; and what proportion of total expenditure on civil nuclear research this would represent.

During 1966–67 the Authority expects to spend about £1·5 million on non-atomic research and development, including £·5 million on repayment. This is equivalent to some 3 per cent. of its civil R. and D. budget for the year. No estimates are yet available of the cost of non-atomic work in subsequent years, but we expect this to rise.

Would the right hon. Gentleman say whether this has brought any reorganisation on the staff side? If members of the staff wish to be transferred to private industry, for example, what arrangements are made for transferability of their pensions?

Any change which we are contemplating at the moment does not necessarily have an effect on staff movement, but this subject is under review with the staff. Although I am not in control of the business arrangements between the Atomic Energy Authority and its staff, I am conscious that it is making very generous approaches to the idea of transferability and interchange of pension rights with a number of private businesses and with Government Departments.

asked the Minister of Technology what has been the total expenditure of public funds on Hovercraft development in each of the last five years; and what are his estimates for each of the next five years.

The figures of expenditure by the N.R.D.C. are as follows for the year starting 1st July:

While the early support gave this valuable project a lot of acceleration, is it not a fact that the support has not been good enough to keep the momentum of the project going as it should have been? Is it not unfortunate that the support should have been chiselled down as it has been?

I am sure that the hon. Gentleman did not listen carefully to the figures which I gave, because I quoted those for 1961 to 1964 which showed that there had been a fairly substantial decline, but since then we have increased the tempo, because we are very conscious of the approaches made by Hovercraft which said that it was not getting sufficient money.

Can my right hon. Friend say how far this great expenditure has been successful in making Hovercraft sufficiently seaworthy to cross not only the English Channel, but the North Sea?

In the Ministry we have made it clear that we regard Hovercraft development as very important. We know that the new company which has been created will accelerate developments and we are helping as much as we can in that direction.

Do the amounts of money which the right hon. Gentleman has mentioned cover other applications of the air cushion principle as well as Hovercraft themselves? For example, do they cover Hovertrains? Is the right hon. Gentleman satisfied that these amounts are yet sufficient for us to maintain our world lead?

The figures do not include applications of other forms of air cushion travel, because the Question was specifically directed to Hovercraft. However, we are conscious of the need for developing these other forms, but the hon. Gentleman will realise that there was some argument in the House about whether this was a form of travel which could be expected to develop more than other forms of traffic movement.

How soon will the Defence Departments have finished their proving tests of possible uses of Hovercraft in defence, and how soon will Hovercraft know whether it is to get production orders?

Questions relating to defence should be addressed to the appropriate Minister.

asked the Minister of Technology what money he expects to receive from the sale of patent rights or licences for the manufacture of Hovercraft abroad.

None, Sir. Income from agreements to license the manufacturers of Hovercraft abroad accrues to Hovercraft Development Ltd., a subsidiary of the N.R.D.C. But no estimate of future income can yet be made. [Interruption.]

While the Chancellor of the Exchequer, who has just entered the Chamber, will need all the luck he can get, has not the Government failed to support Hovercraft Limited in getting these licences for reasonable sums of money?

I do not know how the hon. Gentleman could have drawn that inference from my Answer. The problem of getting other nations themselves to manufacture Hovercraft under British licence is very much a question of the developments going on in those other countries, but obviously we have an interest and we are giving as much encouragement as we can.

Can the Minister forecast whether the passenger heating will be turned on in Hovercraft during the summer season as on British Railways?

That is another question.

asked the Minister of Technology if he will state the terms of the research contract he has recently placed with Imperial College of Science and Technology for the development of a general purpose computer processor.

The contract is for a general purpose compiler to provide a tool for translating programming languages into the orders which individual computers obey. The contract, which covers a three-year programme, is for £106,500.

Is this to be a prototype form of contract?

It is certainly the sort of contract which we wish to develop with both industry and the universities to develop the computer industry.

asked the Minister of Technology when he will launch his co-operative scheme involving industry, universities, and Government establishments to develop and apply new techniques of computer-aided design; and whether he will give an estimate of the cost.

asked the Minister of Technology what estimates he has made of the cost of the co-operation scheme involving university, industry and Government establishment to develop and apply the new techniques for computer design; and what estimates he has made of the resulting gain to the nation.

The working party which has been preparing the plans in this field is finalising its report. Certain preparatory work is already in progress—for example, that at the National Engineering Laboratory—but I cannot yet forecast when the final scheme will be in operation.

May we have an assurance that special attention will be given to standardising techniques?

Yes, standardising techniques are very much in the forefront of our minds at the moment.

asked the Minister of Technology if he will list the areas of the electronics industry where Government action is expected to be urgently required.

One area of the electronics industry under particular consideration is microelectronics. The effective co-ordination and exploitation of research and development is also very important. In this my Department is being assisted by the Technical Advisory Committee on Electronics which includes representatives from industry, the N.R.D.C. and other Government Departments.

Does not the right hon. Gentleman realise that no amount of tinkering with electronic systems and techniques will suffice unless there is a firm policy on projects, both civil and military? Does he further realise that the main reason why we have fallen so far behind the United States is the firm commitments of the Americans to defence and space technology and our own chronic indecision in these respects?

The Ministry is not suggesting that it will be involved in space, but that it will take up projects which are of aid to the electronics industries.

asked the Minister of Technology what action he has taken, or is proposing to take, to fulfil his responsibilities as the sponsoring Minister for the telecommunications industry.

Our objectives are to promote the efficiency and competitiveness of the telecommunications industry. Discussions with the individual firms in the industry are in progress.

Who is responsible for placing R and D and pre-production contracts? Is it the Post Office, which is the main Government user of the industry, or the hon. Gentleman's Ministry?

It is the Post Office.

Does this work extend to telecommunications by satellite and, if so, is there a Government programme for telecommunications?

That is another question which the hon. Gentleman had better put on the Order Paper.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will grant a dispensation, by way of averaging or otherwise, to those aged taxpayers whose total income for 1965–66 is for tax purposes increased beyond the gross figure of £900 by reason solely of the abnormal bunching of dividends to the provisions of the 1965 Finance Act.

I must ask the hon. Gentleman to await the statement my right hon. Friend will be making later this afternoon.

Will the right hon. Gentleman bear in mind that he ought to give the small income pensioner the same dispensation which he gives to the Surtax payer under Section 238?

I am sure that my right hon. Friend heard what the right hon. Gentleman had to say.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will alter the accounting procedure applicable to hospital boards and other Government agencies which at present induces them to spend more money before 31st March in any year than they would otherwise choose to spend.

I have had a study made of this question and am satisfied that there must be surrender of unspent balances to ensure Parliamentary control of expenditure. The system of control of public expenditure includes checks to counteract any tendencies to extravagant spending at the end of the financial year.

Does not the right hon. Gentleman know—and if not, any contractor will tell him—that there is an immense amount of expenditure accelerated between January and March every year in order to get within an accounting system which apparently encourages rather than reduces public expenditure?

The mere fact of acceleration of expenditure by itself does not necessarily give rise to extravagance. The accounts have to be signed, sent in and billed and the goods delivered before expenditure takes place, and most of those activities are outside the control of the spending authority.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether it was with his authority that Professor Kaldor stated to the Economic Research Council that cash earmarked by close companies for expansion will not be taxed under the provisions of the Finance Act, 1965.

Yes, Sir.

I appreciate the tenor of the remarks of his special adviser, but will the Chancellor consider whether this statement should have been made earlier by himself?

The statement was made on 21st June, 1965, during the debates on the Finance Bill.

Would the right hon. Gentleman accept that the statement made by Professor Kaldor in answer to a question by myself at the meeting mentioned represented no change whatever from the doctrines propounded by the Government Front Bench during the Finance Bill debates and sounded every bit as unpalatable when propounded by the professor as by the right hon. Gentleman?

I am much obliged to the hon. Gentleman for confirming what I said. The only thing which I regret about this is that Professor Kaldor, one of the most distinguished economists we have in this country, was invited to address this learned organisation on the basis of complete confidentiality in the discussions and I very much regret that that was broken.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what were the amounts spent on roads in 1963, 1964 and 1965, respectively, as percentages of the revenue received from road users by way of fuel tax and licence duty; and what are the estimated figures for 1966.

Taking both central Government and local authority spending on roads, the figures are 41·7 per cent. in 1963–64, 41·1 per cent. in 1964–65, and 41·9 per cent. in 1965–66. I would remind my hon. Friend that expenditure on roads cannot be linked with revenue derived from road users.

Does my right hon. Friend appreciate that insufficient money is being spent on the roads while road congestion is costing the country more than £300 million a year? If he cannot find the money by the ordinary methods, would he consult his right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer about putting a tax on capital wealth so that we can get the money?

I am aware of my hon. Friend's anxiety and I hope that he will not mind my responding by asking hire whether he is aware that road building is planned to increase faster than any other major sector of Government expenditure.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will take the necessary steps to ensure that a married woman, whose husband has qualified for repayment of his post-war credits, shall also be able to receive her post-war credits if she has not been working during the same period upon which her husband's successful claim was based.

I must ask my hon. Friend to await the statement my right hon. Friend will be making later this afternoon.

Does my right hon. Friend appreciate that for a long time now even the previous Government carried on the ridiculous position by which when the husband was destitute it was considered that the wife also was destitute? I hope that my right hon. Friend will be able to take that into consideration later.

I am sure that my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer has heard my hon. Friend's representations and, of course, I have read the previous correspondence.

Does the right hon. Gentleman's Answer mean that the Chancellor will deal with this specific subject in his statement later this afternoon?

It means that it is wise at this point of time to make a neutral statement which means absolutely nothing.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government whether he is aware of the financial hardships being experienced by many elected members of local authorities; and whether he will take action to deal with this in advance of the Maud Committee's Report.

The Government have promised that the rates of financial loss allowance which are paid to others besides local government members, will be reviewed this year. A decision on this matter is not dependent on the report of the Maud Committee.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government if he will make a statement on the radioactive isotope which is missing from the firm of Kent Alloys, Strood, Rochester.

In compliance with a condition of registration under the Radioactive Substances Act, 1960, the firm notified the Department on 20th April of the theft of a radioactive sealed source of cobalt 60. A detailed search of the premises, nearby children's playgrounds and refuse dumps was immediately made by staff from the Radiological Protection Service and the Department's deputy senior radiochemical inspector, but without success. The police are continuing their investigations with the help of the Radiological Protection Service. An earlier theft took place on 25th March.

While thanking my hon. Friend for his reply, may I stress the very real anxiety felt by the workers in the factory concerned, at Kent Alloys, Strood, Rochester, and felt also by parents living nearby, who are afraid that their children may pick up this object? May I also ask whether his Ministry will see to it that more stringent security measures are taken in the near future to avoid the repetition of such a theft?

My right hon. Friend fully understands the anxiety of my hon. Friend. This is a most disquieting happening but it appears to be a unique case. My right hon. Friend is keeping the matter under review and asking for reports from the police and other authorities, to see whether anything more can be done to improve security arrangements.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government if, when considering persons to serve on the Royal Comission on Local Government, he will seek to obtain a cross-section of experienced people and others and not fill the Commission with too many academics from the universities.

Yes, Sir.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government how many rents have been determined to date by rent officers in the London Borough of Lambeth; how many have been reduced, unchanged or increased; how many applications are outstanding; and how many references have been made to the Rent Assessment Committee.

Up to and including 30th April, 1966, 122 applications for registration had been determined. Seventy-eight rents were reduced, 15 were unchanged and 29 were increased. Two hundred and forty-nine applications for registration were outstanding and 12 references had been made to a rent assessment committee.

In view of some of the crazy decisions which are being made by rent officers and rent assessment committees, will my hon. Friend see that a very early review is made of all these decisions, which at the moment seem to be completely nullifying the whole object of the 1965 Rent Act?

It is much too early to make any assessment about whether the decisions are going up or down.

As this information is of the very greatest interest and importance, will the Minister see that it is published regularly in respect of all the local authorities in which rent officers have been appointed?

I should not like to say which particular areas will be covered, but we certainly intend to give the fullest possible information as soon as it is available.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government if he will take steps to see that the Greater London Council do not introduce urban slab blocks eight storeys high in its development plans for its estate at Edenbridge, thus destroying the rural aspect.

Two eight-storey point blocks of flats are included in a planning application from the Greater London Council which is now before Kent County Council as local planning authority. My right hon. Friend is willing to leave the county council to decide the application.

As I understand that the county council has withheld approval of this scheme owing to numerous complaints, will the Minister impress upon the G.L.C. the desirability, when planning its overspill developments, of not ruining the countryside by importing undesirable features of the London scene into rural England?

This is essentially a planning matter which should be left, in the first place, to the planning authority to decide.

asked the Minister of Power if he is aware that current manpower and output trends in the coalmining industry will result in the production of 130 million tons of deep-mined coal in 1970–71, compared with a demand of 170 to 180 million tons forecast for that year in the National Plan; and what action he will take to deal with this matter.

In consultation with the Chairman of the National Coal Board, I shall be giving close attention to the implications of current manpower and output trends in the coal industry. I have not yet formed a considered judgment about their significance in terms of the demand for coal forecast in the National Plan.

asked the Minister of Power, in view of the evidence given to the Select Committee on the Nationalised Industries by the Chairman of the National Coal Board, what consultations he has had and what directions he has given to the National Coal Board on the announcement of the colliery closure programme to 1970 and the implementation of that programme.

My predecessor was in close touch with the Chairman of the National Coal Board on the future of the coal mining industry, including the colliery closure programme. This close consultation, which I shall be continuing, should obviate any need for directions to the National Coal Board.

Can my right hon. Friend confirm or deny the allegations in Question No. 38 that the production of coal this year will be 130 million tons? Is he aware that if this is so it represents a very serious situation which needs explaining?

At the moment it is difficult to be able to establish what the final position will be. There are clearly difficulties in the coal mining industry, primarily concerned with manpower, but it is too early to be able to work out what the final implication will be.