asked the Secretary of State for Scotland why emigration from Scotland increased in 1965 and resulted in a drop in the population of Scotland for the first time since 1951.

The latest available estimate of net emigration is for the year 30th June 1964, to 30th June, 1965. In that year, migration to the rest of the United Kingdom has reduced, but there was a continuation of the trend in recent years of rising emigration overseas. The fall in population at mid-1965 also reflected a reduction in the number of births, and an increase in the number of deaths. The population of Scotland also fell between 1951 and 1952 and between 1952 and 1953.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland why the value of educational building projects approved dropped by one-third in 1965.

The main drop occurred with secondary school projects mainly because authorities had to reconsider some of these in the context of the reorganisation of secondary education on comprehensive lines, and to take account of the raising of the leaving age.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what is his latest estimate of the value of building work on public and grant-aided schools in Scotland which he expects to approve during the course of the current calendar year.

Approval relates to the sketch plans and cost estimates for each particular project submitted, and it is not practicable at this stage to estimate the value of the projects that will be submitted.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will establish a rural development board, as outlined in the Government's White Paper on the Development of Agriculture, in order to co-ordinate the needs of agriculture and forestry in the Strathdon area of Aberdeenshire.

I have at present no power to set up any rural development boards.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland when he intends to announce the Government's proposals for transport and freight policy in the Highlands and Islands.

At the end of this year I expect to receive a report from the Highland Transport Board on the transport needs of the Highlands and Islands, and the Government's views on the Board's recommendations will be indicated as soon as possible thereafter. National transport policy is at present under review and my right hon. Friend the Minister of Transport and I are bearing in mind the special needs of the Highlands and Islands.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he has yet completed his study of the Hunter Committee's Report on Scottish Salmon and Trout Fisheries, Command Paper No. 2691; and which recommendations he plans to implement.

I would refer my hon. and learned Friend to the reply given to the hon. Member for North Angus and Mearns (Mr. Buchanan-Smith) on 11th May.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many Ayrshire schoolchildren did not receive a dental examination during 1965.

Only 9,000 of the 60,000 schoolchildren in Ayrshire were examined by school dental officers during the school year ended 31st July, 1965. I regret that information about the number examined by general dental practitioners is not available but I hope that the estimates from 1st April, 1966, onwards will yield information on the scope of the treatment provided for children.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he is aware that in connection with the detection of tuberculosis no routine X-ray examinations take place in the three main hospitals in Ayrshire; and when such examinations will take place.

Chest X-ray examinations for the detection of tuberculosis among patients attending these hospitals are made when the physician has any reason at all to suspect that the disease may be present. Whether there should be a routine examination for all patients is a matter for the hospital authorities to decide.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the acreage of trees planted under the Forestry Commission's Social Planting Programme since 1955, in the seven crofting counties, and in Ross and Cromarty, respectively.

9,200 in the crofting counties. This includes 1,500 acres in Ross and Cromarty.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he is satisfied that the existing procedures for seeking planning permission are sufficiently swift, especially when they involve appeals to him; and what changes he proposes in present procedures.

I am not satisfied and I am having the procedures reviewed, in consultation with local authority representatives.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland why it was estimated in the White Paper on the Scottish economy that there would be 130,000 new jobs in Scotland in the six years 1965–70, since 157,000 new jobs were created in Scotland in the previous four years.

The figure of 157,000 quoted by the hon. Gentleman relates not to new jobs but to aggregate increases in employment in all these industries and services which, in the middle of 1964, had higher employment than in mid-1960. These gains were however partly offset by losses of 127,000. The net increase in employment between 1960 and 1%4 was therefore only 30,000. The Scottish Plan contemplates that this figure will be doubled over the next five years.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland why medical practitioners claiming improvement grants for surgery premises must testify that no part of the cost on which grant is claimed has been or will be included in tax allowance claims, in view of the fact that the amount of grant promised is less than the tax allowance on the total expenditure.

The purpose of asking for this undertaking is to ensure that expenditure on repairs and maintenance is not claimed in applications for improvement grants. Such expenditure is already allowable for Income Tax purposes, but expenditure on improvements is not.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what estimates he has made of the increase in farmers' rents in Scotland during last year.

The figure for 1965–66 is not yet available.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will publish the comprehensive market research survey into the tourist industry in Scotland, referred to in the Scottish Economy, Command Paper No. 2864.

Publication is being arranged through the Central Office of Information.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what is his estimate of the total of public investment in Scotland at 1965 prices in the financial year 1966–67.

About £385 million.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how much was spent by both electricity boards on connecting remote areas to the electricity supply in each of the last ten years.

The following estimates have been provided by the two Boards. They are not strictly comparable: the South of Scotland Electricity Board's expenditure relates to the connection of farms and isolated dwellings in any rural area; the North of Scotland Hydro-Electric Board's expenditure relates to uneconomic connections in remote areas only:

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what is his latest estimate of the number of houses which will be completed in Scotland during the current financial year.

I cannot make a precise estimate during this first quarter of the year. On average it takes about 15 months to build a house of up to 5 storeys, so about 35,000 of these, which was the number started in 1965, should be completed in 1966–67. The time taken to build multi-storey blocks depends on height and type, and I cannot estimate how many of the 11,000 houses in blocks which were building on 1st April will be completed during the year.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland when he proposes to establish a police station in the Corstorphine district of Edinburgh.

The provision of police stations is a responsibility of the police authority, subject to my consent. The intended starting date of the Corstorphine Station was postponed until May, 1966, under the measures announced last July, but the police authority is now free to determine what priority should be accorded to it.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what representations he has had regarding the introduction of a brucellosis eradication scheme in Scotland; and if he will make a statement.

I have received representations urging the introduction of an eradication scheme from the British Veterinary Association, the National Farmers' Union of Scotland and the National Cattle Breeders' Association. As the hon. Gentleman knows, there is to be an adjournment debate on this subject today, to which my hon. Friend the Joint Parliamentary Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food will be replying.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether, in view of the recommendation of the National Board for Prices and Incomes, he will introduce legislation for new negotiating machinery in respect of Scottish teachers' salaries so as to make possible the appointment of the same chairman to the two arbitral bodies in Scotland and England; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

I cannot anticipate the details of the legislation, which will depend on consultations yet to be undertaken with local authority and teachers' associations. I shall, however, carefully consider this recommendation by the Board.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence whether he will make a statement on the appointment of 10 deputy arms salesmen at £5,000 per annum each.

As I told the House on 25th January last, the Head of Defence Sales will be given the necessary support- ing staff. Appointments will be made as the need arises. No decisions have been taken regarding the numbers required or their salaries.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what has been the total expenditure on H.M.S. "Britannia" for the first five months of this year; how many days it has been used for ceremonial purposes; how many officers and men are now on the ship; and what is the total weekly pay.

£195,000; 150 days; 22 officers and 258 ratings; on average, £5,700 all told.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence how many armoured units are now stationed east of Suez; and how many of these are to be withdrawn following the findings of the Defence Review.

There are at present three regiments and one squadron of the Royal Armoured Corps east of Suez. Final details of the long term order of battle there have not yet been settled.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what progress he has made in reviewing arrangements for the transport free of charge to the next of kin of the remains of Service men who have died abroad while on active service during peacetime; and if he will make a statement.

We are making progress, but we have not yet completed the review. I will make a statement as soon as I can.

asked the Minister of Transport what steps she is taking to conduct experiments on the safety braking device, details of which have been sent to her by the hon. Member for Leominster.

Two demonstrations of the device have been observed by the Ministry's technical officers who have also driven test vehicles and had discussions with the sponsors.

asked the Minister of Transport in view of the recent development of a method of short-wave radio driving instruction for disabled people, details of which have been sent to her, if she will reconsider her decision not to hold experiments in this field.

If the hon. Member will send us full details of the method referred to in the newspaper report which he sent, we would be glad to examine them.

asked the Minister of Transport whether, in view of the number of accidents involving heavy goods vehicles, she will now introduce legislation to provide for regular inspections of such vehicles, control of load weights and medical examinations for drivers; and if she will make a statement.

The Road Safety Bill, which the Government intend to introduce this Session, will deal with such matters.

asked the Minister of Transport how many five-year car test certificates have been found to be forgeries; and if she will give an estimate based on this evidence of the number of forged certificates currently in existence.

Information obtained by the police suggests that forgeries may have occurred on a small scale. To prevent the practice developing the form of certificate has been redesigned to make fraudulent reproduction very difficult, if not impracticable.

asked the Minister of Transport if she will take steps, by legislation or otherwise, to ensure that from an early date all new motor cars are built to designs which give maximum protection to drivers and passengers when vehicles are in collision.

This is the purpose of regulations such as the Motor Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations made under the Road Traffic Acts. These regulations are constantly being improved to keep them in step with the results of research and development here and abroad. They aim to reduce the likelihood of accidents and the risk of injury from them.

asked the Minister of Transport how much money was obtained from parking meters in the London area during 1965; and how this money was spent.

Figures for the financial year ended 31st March, 1966 are not yet available. In the previous year the gross income was £898,673. Of this, £716,281 was spent on administration, enforcement, maintenance, servicing of loans and taxation and £111,453 towards the provision or maintenance of off-street parking.

asked the Minister of Transport when she expects to receive a report from the working party on braking requirements for commercial vehicles.

The Working Party has already made recommendations about the braking requirements for the main classes of goods vehicles. My right hon. Friend is now consulting representative organisations about draft regulations to give effect to these recommendations. She hopes soon to announce their final form and date of operation.

asked the Minister of Transport if she will list in the OFFICIAL REPORT the number of private motor cars taxed each year since 1945; and if she will similarly list A, B and C licence vehicles.

The following is the information available:

asked the Minister of Transport what Government assistance is being given to the development of monorail systems in the United Kingdom; and if she will make a statement.

The Government is not financially helping the development of monorail systems in this country, but the advice of my Department is always available to developers. As I have already told the House the Government are contributing to a study of the urban application of these and other new forms of transport.

asked the Minister of Transport if she will reconsider her decision to withdraw all passenger services from the Berry Brow station, Huddersfield, in view of the number of persons employed at David Brown Gear Industries who use this station in the early morning and in the late afternoon.

No. But my right hon. Friend is always ready to vary the conditions of her consent, so as to improve the alternative services if she is given detailed evidence to show that the essential needs of former passengers are not being met.

asked the Minister of Transport, in view of the difficulty in assessing in financial terms the social services provided by railways, whether, in her White Paper, she will equate such services with the readily identifiable track and signalling costs.

My right lion. Friend does not propose to anticipate her forthcoming White Paper on Transport Policy.

asked the Minister of Transport if he will give an undertaking that the railway track between Aberdeen and Ballater will not be lifted or dismantled for a period of five years, in view of the expected development in the area.

At the time my right hon. Friend the Member for Hamilton (Mr. Tom Fraser) gave his consent to the closure of the line to passengers he informed the Railways Board that he would not be prepared to agree to the disposal of the track for the time being between Aberdeen and Banchory.Notwithstanding the new policy my right hon. Friend has announced today on the disposal of redundant assets on closed lines this arrangement will continue. If and when the Board does seek her approval to disposal of the track she will obtain the view of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland before giving her decision. The arrangement will also apply to the track between Banchory and Ballater.

asked the Minister of Transport if she will list in the OFFICIAL REPORT, year by year

The number of people killed and injured in all classes of accidents on the railways year by year since 1946 is given in Table 1. Trespassers, Suicides and Attempted Suicides are excluded. Table 2 summarises the number of casualties in train accidents only.

asked the Minister of Transport whether she will ensure that the track and route of closed railways which might be needed again in the future will be retained; and if she will make a statement.

My policy is to preserve the route of a closed line and the station sites and accesses wherever I consider that services might possibly be needed again following long-term planning decisions. Station buildings and signalling apparatus have a limited life after closure. In addition to natural deterioration, they are subject to vandalism which can destroy much of their value within a short period. I am satisfied that overall the retention of the line formation, station sites and accesses is a sufficient safeguard for the future. I have accordingly arranged with the Railways Board that they will continue to seek my agreement before they dispose of the formation (the land on which the actual track is laid) of all closed lines in urban areas and of all other lines closed since 1st January, 1963, and to the disposal of station sites and accesses on such lines.At the same time I am anxious that the Board should be able to realise the value of assets the removal of which will not prejudice the possibility of restoring services in the future should that ever prove desirable. I recognise the Board's concern to avoid retaining disused track when they can get very good prices from its sale immediately. I understand that they normally hope to gain well over £2,000 for every mile of track sold and that in 1965 they obtained £2 million from the sale of track on closed lines. I have therefore told them that they are free to dispose of the actual track and signalling apparatus, and of station buildings, where a closure has taken place.Before giving or withholding my agreement to the disposal of formation, station sites and accesses, I shall henceforth first refer applications by the Board to the appropriate regional Economic Planning Council for their comments.

asked the Minister of Transport if she will make a statement regarding the future construction of the Humber Bridge.

My right hon. Friend is meeting representatives of the Humber Bridge Board to-day and will make a statement as soon as possible.

asked the Minister of Transport when she now expects the construction of the bypass road at Honiton to be completed; what the original date for completion was when the work was started in the summer of 1964; and what has been the reason for the delay.

My right hon. Friend hopes that the bypass will be open by the end of September. The contract completion date is July but progress has been affected by the bad weather earlier this year.

asked the Minister of Transport if she is aware of the absence of signposting on the Al between London and Doncaster for the city of Kingston-upon-Hull; and whether she will remedy this omission, particularly at the junction of the dual carriageway with the A614 leading to Bawtry-Goole and Hull.

My right hon. Friend is arranging for Hull to be added to the signs at the junction of Al with A614.

asked the Minister of Transport if she will publish further details of table 5 of the preliminary analysis by the Road Research Laboratory on the 70 miles per hour speed limit experiment, showing how many accidents were due to mechanical failures, worn tyres, and drink, respectively, how many occurred through a vehicle passing on the inside, how many occurred when vehicles were bunching, how many had occurred when one or more of the vehicles involved was exceeding 70 miles per hour, and how many had occurred at a time when wet conditions were causing vehicle spray; and if she will indicate any difference in police patrol car activity by giving for each of the December-April periods over the six years the number of police patrol car hours on the 73 miles of the London-Birmingham motorway.

It is impracticable to cover these matters in the Laboratory's assessment of the first four months of the experiment which is to be published in July. Details of this sort will, however, be included, as far as possible, in the Road Research Laboratory report, which will be published in 1967 before the end of the 70 miles per hour speed limit experiment. The information regarding police patrol car activity over the last six years is not available.

asked the Minister of Transport what representations she has received concerning the accounts of the Sutton Harbour Improvement Company; and what action she proposes to take.

None that have any relevance to my ministerial responsibilities.

asked the Minister of Aviation what is his policy concerning the talks now proceeding between the Bristol Aeroplane Company and Rolls-Royce concerning the possibility of a merger.

I shall consider on their merit such proposals as the Companies may indue course put forward.

asked the Minister of Aviation if he will make a statement on the practical technical progress made by the European Space Research Organisation and the European Launcher Development Organisation, as reported to the recent Conference; and whether it remains the policy of Her Majesty's Government to give the maximum possible support to European co-operation in space research and exploration.

I would refer my hon. Friend to my statement in the House on 13th June. The Conference did not discuss E.S.R.O.

asked the Minister of Aviation if he will now give a general direction to British European Airways to purchase British aircraft only and to base their future planning on British aircraft, in order to maintain public confidence.

No. Naturally I share the Chairman's publicly expressed wish that B.E.A.'s traditional reliance on British aircraft will continue.

asked the Postmaster-General whether he has now appointed a public relations officer for the Brighton postal area; what will be his salary; and what will be his duties.

As I indicated in answer to the hon. Member on the 25th May, the intention is to appoint a postal service representative at Brighton as an experiment. His duties will be generally to promote better use of the postal service, to help customers with their postal problems and look into the more serious complaints. We are now considering candidates for the post and an appointment should be made within a few weeks. The salary will be in the scale f1,141-£1,403.

asked the Postmaster-General, in view of the impending closure of a number of post offices, what is his policy as to the minimum distancés between post offices; and whether he will take into consideration the importance of these distances to the aged and infirm.

The standard minimum distance between Post Offices is now a mile in towns and two miles in country areas. But these standards are not applied inflexibly; and, in considering the need for Post Offices, we take account of exceptional circumstances and the needs of the aged and infirm.

asked the Postmaster-General whether he is yet in a position to reply to the representations sent to him by the hon. Member for Brighton, Pavilion, in early May.

The hon. Member will by now have received my reply to his representations.

asked the Postmaster-General what alternative arrangements he is making for the dispatch of surface mail during the present shipping strike.

There is, of course, a good deal of delay; but the mails are being dispatched by sea as and when opportunity offers and, in some instances, by air.

asked the Postmaster-General, in view of the fact that the British Broadcasting Corporation's aerials have been at the Belmont, North Lincolnshire, site since early April, and the transmitters are complete, what is causing the delay in completing this work and giving the people of North Lincolnshire as good a service as is provided by the Independent Television Authority; if he will give directions that this work is to be completed without further delay; if he will make a statement.

The construction timetable for the B.B.C.'s stations is the Corporation's responsibility. They tell me that though the transmitter and the fibre glass cladding for the aerial are ready there has been some delay in the manufacture and testing of the aerial itself. This is expected to be delivered shortly, but it will not now be possible to complete the BBC-1 installation at Belmont before the autumn.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will give an assurance that a vessel of the Fishery Protection Service will be in constant attendance with the herring fishing fleet during the whole of the fleet's operations along the North-East Coast.

I would refer the hon. Member to the Answer which I gave on 26th May to my hon. Friend the Member for Houghton-le-Spring (Mr. Urwin).

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what arrangements he has made to examine the effect of the proposed Selective Employment Tax on the retail distribution of food.

We will keep the position under review. We are also considering representations on specific points which have been received from individual trade associations. I would also refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Barry (Mr. Gower) on 17th May.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he will now introduce legislation banning the use of half-pint bottles of milk delivered to consumers, in view of the fact that it is uneconomic to deal with such small quantities, and in order to relieve distributors of the criticism to which they are subjected when they attempt to introduce this policy.

No.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many applications for grants for fishing vessels have been made to the White Fish Authority since the rates were increased to 35 per cent. and 40 per cent. respectively; and how many of these grants have been allowed.

The rates of grant have not yet been increased. I understand that between 9th March, when the new rates were announced, and the end of May the White Fish Authority received 83 applications for grant of which they have so far approved 33.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what action he proposes to take to safeguard diminishing fish stocks in the North Atlantic, having regard to the Second Report of the North-East Atlantic Fisheries Commission's Special Committee on International Control at the Edinburgh conference on 10th to 13th May.

I would refer my hon. Friend to the Answer I gave on 25th May to the hon. Member for Haltemprice (Mr. Wall).

asked the President of the Board of Trade how many Government factories have been built in Scotland; what is the total cost and income; how many square feet of floor space is occupied and unused, respectively; how many more factories it is proposed to build; and if he will make a statement.

364 firms occupy approximately 22 million sq. ft. of factory space in Scotland owned by the Board of Trade, the estimated cost of which was about £30 million. Of this area about 17·2 million sq. ft. have been constructed by the Board since the Distribution of Industry Act of 1945. Less than ¼ million sq. ft. is currently unoccupied. The annual rent received from Board of Trade tenants is approximately £1·7 million. We have about 71 projects now under construction or approved, and are willing to consider building for any suitable applicant.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what arrangements have been made for the collection and distribution of a levy in respect of cinema films shown on pay television during the period of the pay television experiment.

Representatives of the pay television operator, the film producers and the film distributors have established a non-statutory scheme under which the pay television operator has undertaken to contribute, throughout the period of the experiment, a levy to a pool which will be distributed to the makers of British films in proportion to their earnings from pay television. The levy is payable on films shown on pay television which have already been shown in a public cinema and on films which are so shown within a period of six months following their showing on pay television; it is at the rate of 6 per cent. of the gross takings of these films.A company, The Pay Television Levy Ltd., has been formed to operate the scheme. Under the Articles of Association the Chairman of the Company must be an independent person and his appointment requires the approval of the Board of Trade. I have approved the appointment of Mr. S. J. Campling, C.B.E., as the first Chairman. Mr. Campling is also a member of the British Film Fund Agency.Copies of the Memorandum of Agreement and of the Memorandum and Articles of Association of the new company have been placed in the Library.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government what stage has now been reached in the study of his inspector's report on the inquiry into the siting of the third airport for London; when he expects to publish the report; and when he will announce his conclusions.

I am in consultation with my colleagues about the report which I received at the beginning of this month. The report will be published when I announce the Government's conclusions, but it is too soon to say when that will be.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government when he expects to approve the East Shropshire 'Water Board scheme to supply piped water lo the Hinstock and Woodseaves areas of the Market Drayton Rural District Council.

Final details of both schemes reached the Department on 6th June. The Hinstock scheme was approved on 14th June. The Woodseaves scheme, however, requires an order under Section 23 of the Water Act 1945. This must be advertised and objections, if any, heard. I cannot therefore forecast when my right hon. Friend will be able to issue his decision.

asked the Minister of Health what information he has of advances recently made in the treatment of haemophilia; and if he will make a statement.

Concentrates of anti-haemophiliac factor have been available for some years in this country on a limited scale for the treatment of special cases, and arrangements are now being made for preparation on a wider scale.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what proportion of major school building projects which should have started in 1965–66 have not yet been started.

Fourteen per cent.

asked the Minister of Labour by what method the Scottish fishing industry will recoup the Selective Employment Tax; and what will be the cost to the inshore fishing fleet of the incidence of the tax.

The arrangements for repayments will be similar to those outlined in paragraph 23 of the White Paper on the selective employment tax (Cmnd. 2986). Our Department will be discussing the detailed arrangements with the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries for Scotland. As regards the last part of the Question, I cannot add to the Answer given by my right hon. Friend the Chief Secretary to the Treasury to the hon. Member for North Angus and Mearns (Mr. Buchanan-Smith) on 9th May, 1966.