asked the Minister of Labour to what extent the estimated 9·5 per cent. annual increase in average hourly wage earnings, excluding the effect of overtime, reported for October, 1965, was accounted for by increases in rates, reductions in standard hours, and fringe benefits.

In the industries covered by the six-monthly earnings inquiries, basic weekly wage rates rose by 4·3 per cent. and normal weekly hours of work fell by 3 per cent. in the 12-month period ending in October, 1965. Hourly wage rates thus increased by 7·3 per cent. compared with an increase of 9·5 per cent. in average hourly earnings—excluding the effect of overtime premium. These figures do not take account of benefits such as holiday pay, pensions schemes, etc. The Ministry is just completing an inquiry into employers' labour costs which will show the relationship of their expenditure on such benefits to their total labour costs.

asked the Minister of Labour if he is satisfied that he is able to express various fringe benefits in terms of percentage increases of existing levels of wage and salary rates and earnings; and if he will make a statement.

In general, yes, though some benefits, such as sick pay schemes, are very much more difficult to quantify than others.

asked the Minister of Labour whether he is aware of the growing use in the construction industries of specially hardened masonry fixing pins and hazards to operatives as a result of the natural propensity of these pins to splintering; and whether he will issue regulations to protect workers from this hazard.

A close watch is being kept on accidents arising from the splintering of this type of fixing pin so that the case for legislation to protect the eyes of workers in the construction industry from this hazard can be fully considered when the Construction Regulations are being revised and consolidated, a task which I expect to commence next year.

asked the Minister of Labour whether he will introduce legislation to make the operation of closed shop policies by trade unions and management in industry illegal.

No.

asked the Minister of Labour what consideration he gave, in drafting the Selective Employment Payments Bill, to the need to empower him to alter both the employments qualifying for premium and refund and the levels of premium or refund between the various administrative divisions of his Department in order to enable him to give extra emphasis to the regional economic development programme of the Government.

The Government gave very careful consideration to its regional objectives when deciding to introduce the Selective Employment Tax. It decided that the right course would be to keep a careful watch on progress in the regions and to take whatever further regional measures might be necessary in the light of experience.

asked the Minister of Labour if he is aware that the factory at Tubewrights Limited, Kirkby, Lancashire, is about to close down, and that redundancies will result; and what steps he will take to ensure that new jobs are found for the workers involved.

Yes, I understand production at this firm will end about October. The firm has already given our officers facilities to bring new jobs to the notice of those likely to need them.

asked the Minister of Labour whether steps have yet been taken to implement the recommendation contained in paragraph 27(i) of the Ninth Report (Interim) of the National Board for Prices and Incomes with regard to the suggested revision of the agreement between the Bakers' Union and the Federation of Wholesale and Multiple Bakers, so as to provide throughout the week for a pattern of working hours more clearly attuned to the demand for bread as it varies from day to day.

The National Joint Committee of the Baking Industry in England and Wales is currently considering this recommendation in conjunction with the recommendations of Report No. 17 of the National Board for Prices and Incomes.

asked the Minister of Labour whether he will take steps to recruit to his Industrial Relations Officer Service persons who have served as personnel officers in industry.

A number of the Industrial Relations Officers of the Ministry have served as personnel officers in industry and one was in fact recruited from industry within the last year.

asked the Minister of Labour on what dates the last three meetings of the Industrial Safety Sub-Committee of the National Joint Industrial Advisory Council were held; and what were the agenda items for the last meeting.

15th July, 1965, 23rd November, 1965 and 17th May, 1966. The Agenda items for the last meeting were: a Progress Report; a Survey of Selected Factories by Her Majesty's Factory Inspectorate on the Reasons for the Increase in Reported Accidents; Safety in the Gas Industry; and Research on Industrial Safety.

asked the Minister of Labour whether any new directive has been issued to employment exchanges dealing with employers who discriminate on racial, religious or ethnic grounds in seeking workers.

Revised instructions have been prepared but not yet issued.

asked the Minister of Labour if he is aware that several hundred employees of Cape Insulation Limited may shortly be rendered redundant by closure of their Barking factory; and if he will do all that is necessary, in consultation with this firm, to ensure that those workers who wish to remain in the firm's employment are enabled to transfer to other factories as painlessly as possible, while those who wish to remain in Barking receive generous severance pay and are assisted to find other employment speedily.

This firm announced on 7th July that about 400 workers will become redundant between the spring and autumn of 1967. They will offer vacanices at their Uxbridge works to those who wish to stay in their employment and will make severance payments to long service workers on a more generous basis than they are required to do by the Redundancy Payments Act. They will give our local officers facilities to interview at the factory those who need their help in finding other jobs.

asked the Minister of Labour if he is aware that information regarding salaries is not available on as comprehensive a scale as that on wages; if he will rectify this; and if he will make a statement.

To the first part of the Question, yes, Sir. This is because the wage rates of the great majority of manual workers are determined by collective agreements or statutory wages orders. For salaried workers, however, there are often no recognised scales, particularly for the private sector and many salaries are negotiated on an individual basis.

asked the Minister of Labour if he is aware that salaries account for approximately one-third of total wage and salary payments; and whether he will propose that individual salary payments and fringe benefits should be notified to him in a manner similar to that in which he is notified of wage claims, in view of the proposed prices and incomes legislation; and if he will make a statement.

The voluntary "early warning" system covers salaries as well as wages but for practical reasons only settlements which are significant, for instance, because of the numbers of persons affected are normally reported. An individual salary would be followed-up if it was thought necessary to do so.So far as Prices and Incomes legislation is concerned, the hon. Member will have an opportunity to raise the matter in the near future.

asked the Minister of Labour whether he has completed his consultations with local authorities regarding the future of the Youth Employment Service; and whether he will make a statement.

The consultations have not yet started. Since receiving the Report of the Working Party my right hon. Friend has given priority to those of its recommendations on which immediate action can be taken within existing legislation. His consultations with the local authority association will relate to long-term issues on which further legislation may he required.

asked the Minister of Labour what was the percentage of unemployed people registered at the employment exchange in Great Yarmouth during the months November to March, 1965; and how this compared with the national average.

Following is the information for 1964–65 and corre- sponding information for 1965–66 which my hon. Friend has also requested.

asked the Minister of Labour what was the percentage of unemployed people receiving National Assistance during the months November to March, 1965 in Great Yarmouth; and how this compared with the national average.

Following is the information for 1964–65 and corresponding information for 1965–66 which my hon. Friend has also requested:

asked the Minister of Labour if he will publish quarterly the detailed statistics of earnings and hours worked that are now recorded twice a year in the Ministry of Labour Gazette.

Not in the detail given twice a year, but the main results of the half-yearly inquiries are now published in each monthly issue of the Ministry of Labour Gazette.

asked the Minister of Labour what progress is being made in the discussions about implementing the policy of equal pay for work of equal value.

I shall be having a meeting with the Trades Union Congress and the Confederation of British Industry jointly on 18th July to discuss this question.

asked the Minister of Labour what steps he is taking to draw the attention of the employers to the special employment needs of deaf school leavers, and to the means of coping with this problem.

Youth Employment Officers, in co-operation with disablement resettlement officers and others, including representatives of voluntary organisations, give careers advice to deaf school leavers, and contact employers with regard to placing and settling such young people in suitable employment.

asked the Minister of Labour whether he will establish a new Government training centre in West Durham which is accessible to those living in the areas of the Brandon and Byshottles, Crook and Wellington and Towlaw Urban District Council and the Lanchester Rural District Council.

No. The Government Training Centre at Tursdale is within daily travelling distance of most of those living in the areas mentioned.

asked the Minister of Labour what record he keeps of workers who have left the aircraft industry in order to serve in other occupations; and what is the nature of these occupations.

Records have been kept only of those workers who registered with Employment Exchanges on reduidancy attributed to the cancel- lation of the HS681, P1154, and TSR2. They distinguish between those who remained in their own occupation and those who changed it. Of 3,155 workers placed or known to have found work outside the aircraft industry only 1,193 are recorded as having changed their occupation.

asked the Minister of Labour what information he has about recruiting teams sent to Britain by United States companies with a view to attracting British technicians and Scientists, especially from the aircraft and electronic industries, to work in the United States or in British installations for United States firms; and whether he will make a statement.

Firms recruiting for vacancies in the United States do not use the services of the Ministry and do not report their results to me, but I have seen Press reports claiming a considerable response to newspaper advertisements of such vacancies. British establishments controlled by United States firms are not separately identified in my Department's records.

asked the Minister of Labour whether he is aware that on Thursday, 9th June the hon. Member for Kettering was told that on his instructions no official in his Department would provide him with factual information or the text of Government statements on the seamen's strike and that the hon. Member had to rely on information from another Department not primarily concerned with labour relations; and whether he will change his instructions to his officials so that inquiries by Members of Parliament are not so treated.

I much regret that officials of the Ministry could not meet the request which the hon. Member made for immediate information about the seaman's strike. This was because all the officials who could have given up-to-date information were at the time involved in discussions with the representatives of the shipowners, the union and others concerned.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he is aware that British weapons supplied by Her Majesty's Government were used in the spring offensive by the Iraqi Army and Air Force against the Kurdistan people in Iraq; and what conditions he makes, when supplying such weapons, about their use.

Her Majesty's Government regret the fighting in Kurdistan, as any other instability in the Middle East, but we regard the Kurdish question as an internal Iraqi matter. No conditions are attached to any arms we sell to Iraq, but all requests for arms are considered on their merits in the light of our desire to maintain stability in the area.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether, as a result of the recent official Rumanian proposals concerning the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation and the Warsaw Pacts, he will initiate exploratory talks with a view to disengagement in central Europe.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what approaches the Government have made to the Polish Government during the past year in connection with the Rapacki-Gaitskell proposals for a nuclear-free zone in Europe.

Her Majesty's Government favour any measures which would lead to the establishment of a more secure system in Europe.We are at present exchanging views with our North Atlantic Treaty Organisation allies about future progress in East-West relations.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he will make a statement about the conditions in which Mr. Brooke is being detained in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.

I cannot add to the information I gave in reply to a Question from my hon. Friend the Member for Croydon, South (Mr. Winnick) on 23rd June.The Embassy in Moscow renewed their representations to the Soviet Government on 27th June about visits and parcels for Mr. Brooke, but no reply has yet been received.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he will make a statement on the continuation of Anglo-Spanish talks on Gibraltar.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what action he has taken regarding the increased restrictions by the Spanish authorities at La Linea and Algeciras on 16th June; and whether he intends to continue talks with the Spanish Government regardless of such unilateral acts.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he will make a statement on the progress of the Anglo-Spanish talks on Gibraltar.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he will make a statement concerning progress made in the present Anglo-Spanish talks on Gibraltar.

Anglo-Spanish talks about Gibraltar were held in London on 18th and 20th May. As was announced on 5th July, they will be resumed in London tomorrow. There has been no change during the month of June in the restrictions applied at the frontier.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (1) what proposals designed to effect the reunification of Germany have been initiated by Her Majesty's Government since the end of World War II;(2) whether Her Majesty's Government will now propose a conference between the four occupation Powers in Germany to prepare the ground for the conclusion of a peace treaty with that country.

The prospects of healthy developments in East-West relations, which cover the problems connected with European security and German reunification are now under examination in the North Atlantic Council.Following is a list of proposals for reunification which Her Majesty's Government have initiated or for which they have been jointly responsible with our allies.United Kingdom memorandum submitted at the Moscow and London Four Power Conference in 1947.2. Tripartite (United Kingdom, United States and France) proposal for restoring the political and economic unity of Germany put forward at the Paris Four Power Conference in 1949.3. Tripartite Notes of May 1950 to the Chairman of the Soviet Control Commission proposing the drawing up of an electoral law as a basis for the formation of an All-German Government.4. United Kingdom proposal submitted at the Berlin Four Power Conference of 1954 for the reunification of Germany by free elections and the conclusion of a Peace Treaty with a united Germany. A modified form of this proposal, combined with a Treaty of Assurance was put forward by the three Western Powers the Geneva Four Power Conference in 1955.5. Tripartite proposal (the Western Peace Plan) submitted at the Geneva Conference of Foreign Ministers in 1959 for a settlement by stages of the problems of Berlin, German reunification and European security.6. Tripartite declarations of 26 June, 1964, and 12 May, 1965.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what was the total financial contribution to the refugee problem by Her Majesty's Government in the last financial year.

Two million, one hundred and thirty thousand, six hundred and eighty-nine pounds.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he will give details of the representations made to the French Government to prevent the publication of extracts from the Special Operations Executive in France in Le Nouvel Observateur.

No representations were made to the French Government. I would refer the hon. Gentleman to the written replies by my hon. and learned Friend the Financial Secretary to the Treasury to my hon. Friend the Member for Oldham, West (Mr. Hale) on 23rd June.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs when it is intended to implement the Council of Europe's Convention on pirate radio stations, of which this country is a signatory.

The European Agreement will be implemented as far as this country is concerned by the legislation which my right hon. Friend the Postmaster-General is introducing before the Summer Recess.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he will publish details of the arrangements to be made between the United Kingdom and Guatemala about British Honduras and if he will give an assurance that Her Majesty's Government will make no secret treaty with Guatemala.

The United States mediator, Mr. Webster, held a meeting in New York on 28th and 29th June in which British and Guatemalan officials took part. As the House will be aware from what I said on 23rd June, this meeting is one of a series.I cannot disclose the mediator's proposals, which are still at the drafting stage. Under the terms of reference of the mediation, its proceedings are confidential. I can assure the House that no treaty will be concluded with Guatemala without the full agreement of the Government of British Honduras and that any such treaty will not be secret.There is general agreement in British Honduras that a settlement of this dispute should be reached. The aim of the mediator is an honourable and final resolution. Allegations that decisions have been taken which in any way jeopardise the future of British Honduras are wholly unwarranted. Premature and inaccurate statements about the course of the mediation can only do harm.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he will make a statement on the negotiations conducted in South Vietnam by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Foreign Office.

My noble Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs visited South Vietnam in June to inform himself of the current situation there, not to undertake negotiations on any matter.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether it remains the policy of Her Majesty's Government to encourage the holding of elections in South Vietnam with the object of establishing a representative Government there.

As I told the House on 7th July, the South Vietnamese are already following a programme for elections for a Constituent Assembly on 11th September this year. We welcome this progress towards the development of constitutional government.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs how many persons in his Department are engaged whole-time in planning to reach his declared policy of a world authority capable of enforcing world law.

None is engaged whole time on theoretic planning but many, including our Mission at the United Nations, are engaged on working towards the desired end.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what plans he has made to discharge the responsibilities of Her Majesty's Government, as a member of the South-East Asia Treaty Organisation, towards Thailand.

I made it clear in the recent South-East Asia Treaty Organisation meeting in Canberra that we intend to honour all our commitments to fellow members of the Organisation. How our responsibilities would be discharged depends entirely on the circumstances at the time.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he will make a statement on Her Majesty's Government's policy regarding the future of the South-East Asia Treaty Organisation.

I have recently reaffirmed at Canberra Her Majesty's Government's determination to support the organisation and to fulfil our obligations under the Manila Treaty. We share the concensus reached at Canberra that S.E.A.T.O. has an important role to play in stabilising South-East Asia, both by helping to deter aggression in all its forms and by measures to improve social and economic conditions.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what changes in British agriculture policy were envisaged in the official statement made by the British representative at the Council of Ministers of Western European Union at Brussels on 28th June. 1966.

A copy of the statement made by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster has been placed in the Library.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (1) if he is satisfied that the amount of broadcasting to the Far East by the British Broadcasting Corporation's external services is sufficient in present circumstances; and whether he plans any extension of these transmissions, especially to South-East Asia;(2) what progress is being made in improving the technical quality of the British Broadcasting Corporation's external services transmissions to the Far East.

The modernisation of transmitting facilities in this country is going ahead. Work on the relay station at Tebrau in Malaysia is included in the British Broadcasting Corporation's programme of capital development but I cannot yet say when it may be possible to proceed with this.We would like to see more British Broadcasting Corporation broadcasting to the Far East as well as other areas, but financial and other considerations limit what we can do immediately.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, in view of Her Majesty's Government's decision in 1949 to recognise the present Government in China because it was de facto and not de jure, if he will give an assurance that this will continue to be Her Majesty's Government's policy regarding Chinese Governments on the mainland.

Her Majesty's Government accorded de jure and not de facto recognition to the Chinese People's Government in January 1950.This remains our position.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he will make a statement on the new international convention for preventing oil pollution of the sea, indicating the nations who have accepted it, the date of its implementation, and how it affects the cleanliness of British beaches and sea birds.

Lists of the Governments involved are as set out below. Amendments to the 1954 Convention will come into force for all Contracting Governments, except those which have declared that they do not accept the Amendments, on 18th May, 1967. The North Sea will become a prohibited zone for the discharge of oil by all Convention ships and the already extensive prohibited zone in the East Atlantic will be increased. This should help to reduce the oil pollution round our coasts.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what is the delay at the Chief Passport Office to requests from the Bristol area for the issue of new passports and for the renewal of passports, respectively.

At present the Passport Office is issuing and renewing passports within 16 days of receipt of applications. A further allowance must be made for applications posted from Bristol or anywhere else.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what were the reasons for not establishing a passport branch office in Bristol; and what consultations took place before the decision was made.

In accordance with the policy of dispersing Government Offices from London it was decided in 1964 to establish a new Branch Passport Office at Newport (Mon.). It will be opened in 1967. Newport was selected in preference to Bristol and several other places only after very thorough examination by all Government Departments concerned. The choice was determined by the need to cover the South-West and the thickly populated area of South Wales; by planning considerations; and by the desirability of setting an example in spreading office employment.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs how many new passports and renewed passports, respectively, were issued to Bristol addresses for each of the years 1962 to 1965, inclusive.

No separate record is maintained by the Passport Office of applications for passports and passport renewals from a particular area.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what representations have been made to seek a review of the sentence of 20 years' imprisonment imposed by a Spanish military tribunal on the British subject, Stuart Christie.

Stuart Christie submitted an appeal on 11th March to the Spanish Head of State. As a personal plea for clemency it was conveyed direct through Spanish official channels and not through Her Majesty's Embassy in Madrid which has, however, expressed the hope that sympathetic consideration would be given to it.

asked the Minister of Public Buildings and Works what was the cost of installing the new lift near the Ways and Means Office, for use only by hon. Members of this House; how many days it has been in use; how many times it has broken down; and how many hon. Members are estimated to have been unable to leave it at various times.

The cost was £30,000. The lift has been in use for 221 days. There have been 29 breakdowns, mostly minor ones. The contractors, who are under a 12 months' guarantee agreement, carried out modifications and refinements three weeks ago which have led to a considerable improvement. On three occasions some hon. Members—a total of 22—were unable to leave the lift.

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance what arrangements she is making for the prompt repayment of Selective Employment Tax in respect of qualified households in order to minimise delay and hardship.

The normal procedure will be for such refunds to be made at quarterly intervals but I am considering how far it might be possible to make refunds more frequently in cases of hardship.

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance, in view of the fact that her Department is encouraging local authorities to provide services directed towards the rehabilitation of handicapped persons, if she will consider the payment of unemployment benefit in such cases;(2) if she is aware that a registered handicapped person, whose name has been sent to her by the hon. Member for Bradford, South, who attended Bradford Corporation's Social and Craft Centre recently, had his claim for unemployment benefit disallowed by the insurance officer on the grounds that his attendance at the Centre constituted the following of an occupation which was not consistent with the full-time employment for which he was available; what action she will take in this matter; and if she will make a statement;(3) if she will issue further National Insurance (Unemployment and Sickness Benefit) Regulations to ensure that where possible handicapped people are encouraged to obtain work outside the home, and for those whose handicaps are too severe to allow this, that there is occupational work at a nearby occupational centre.

I am aware of the case, but I cannot intervene in the decisions of the independent authorities who decide claims to unemployment benefit.Unemployment benefit can be paid to people who attend occupational centres provided that they do not receive remuneration which brings them within the scope of the ordinary benefit rules. The extent to which anyone can engage in remunerative work and still be properly entitled to unemployment benefit must be strictly limited but I am reexamining these rules in the context of the changes in unemployment benefit introduced by the National Insurance Act 1966.

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance by what amount the basic retirement pension has 'decreased in purchasing power since the date of the last increase.

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply which I gave to the hon. Member for Paddington, South (Mr. Scott) on 27th June.

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance if she will introduce legislation to enable the children of widows to retain their allowances on the remarriage of their mother.

This matter will be borne in mind in the course of our review of the social security provisions.

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance how many widows there are in each of the age groups, 35–39, 40–44, 45–49 in receipt of widowed mother's allowance.

At 31st December, 1965, the numbers in receipt of National

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance if she will consider, with a view to introducing legislation, the possibility of payments made as a result of court orders being collected at the new social security offices and not at the courts, and recovery of arrears being the responsibility of her Department.

Where a woman with a maintenance or affiliation order is receiving assistance, the Board, with the woman's consent, collect from the court any moneys paid on the court order and pay her a full weekly assistance grant. These arrangements will be continued when National Assistance is replaced by the new scheme of non-contributory benefits. I cannot, however, hold out any prospect of the Ministry of Social Security assuming a general responsibility for the collection of payments made on court orders and the recovery of arrears.

asked the Minister of Health whether he will exhibit in the Palace of Westminster a model of the revised plan for the rebuilding of St. Thomas's Hospital.

I hope to do this later this month.

asked the Minister of Health whether he is aware of the growing concern in the Ancoats and Beswick districts of Manchester about the inadequacy of the hospital facilities in East Manchester; and whether he will ask the Manchester Regional Hospital Board to reconsider their attitude to the future of Ancoats Hospital, with a view to its redevelopment and extension.

Improvements are planned in this area. No final decision has been taken about the place of An-coats Hospital in the ultimate pattern of hospital services in the area.

asked the Minister of Health what are the duties of Her Majesty's Inspector of Anatomy; how many persons are employed in his department; and what is the cost to public funds.

His duties are to advise me and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland on applications for licences to practise anatomy; to inspect places where anatomy is practised; and to keep records and make returns about the removal of bodies for anatomical examination and their subsequent interment. Two other persons are employed in his department; the total cost to public funds is about £6,600 per annum.

asked the Minister of Health when the Registrar General's special study into the regional differences in infant mortality will be published.

The study, entitled "Regional and Social Factors in Infant Mortality", will be published next Thursday. It confirms that regional and social factors influence the level of infant mortality independently of any association with other factors such as maternal age or numbers of previous children.

asked the Minister of Transport by what means she is informed of the number of buses operated by driver alone in municipal and company bus undertakings, excluding London Transport.

This is a matter for the bus operators, subject to authorisation by the Traffic Commissioners. The Commissioners' Annual Reports give general information about the extent of their authorisations.

asked the Minister of Transport when the Transport Co-ordinating Council for London will suggest the measures necessary to improve interchange facilities to get operational coordination and to make public transport more attractive.

The Council's Operations, Interchanges and Public Transport Investment Groups are engaged on a continuing programme of work with these objects. Action necessary to secure improvements is being taken by the authorities represented on the Groups.

asked the Minister of Transport when she expects her review on the working of travel concessionary fares for old people to be concluded.

My right hon. Friend cannot yet say. The review needs to be a detailed one which will take some time.

asked the Minister of Transport if she will introduce legislation requiring all motor cyclists to exhibit on their machines a notice that pillion passengers are not insured.

As my right hon. Friend announced in her rely on 9th March to my hon. Friend the Member for Bolton, West (Mr. Oakes), a special Committee of the National Road Safety Advisory Council is considering whether passenger insurance should be made compulsory. It would be premature to consider my hon. Friend's suggestion until this matter has been decided.

asked the Minister of Transport if she will introduce legislation making it illegal for motor cyclists to carry pillion passengers.

It is already illegal for learner motor cyclists to carry, on solo machines, pillion passengers who are not holders of a substantive motor cycle driving licence. My right hon. Friend's present view is that any further restriction of pillion riding would not be justified.

asked the Minister of Transport if, in view of the increasing number of cars being stolen, she will consult the motor manufacturers with a view to making obligatory the fixing on every vehicle of a device designed to prevent theft.

This suggestion is being considered in consultation with my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary, but new legislation would seem to be required.

asked the Minister of Transport whether she will make arrangements so that applications to re-licence a motor vehicle can be made in the Welsh language.

Yes. After consultation with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales, my right hon. Friend is arranging for the appropriate form to be printed for completion in Welsh. When available, it will be obtainable on request from Motor Taxation Offices in Wales and Monmouthshire. Applications made on the form in in Welsh will be accepted only at these offices.

asked the Minister of Transport whether she will refer to the National Board for Prices and Incomes the imposition of a 5s. charge for control tickets during the holiday period by British Railways in Scotland.

No. This is a seat control ticket which guarantees a seat on the train. My right hon. Friend sees no case here for a reference to the National Board for Prices and Incomes.

asked the Minister of Transport (1) when she proposes to give her approval to the plans for the three new underground railway lines which the London Transport Board has drawn up in conjunction with British Railways; and to what extent the cost of these lines will be borne by the Board;(2) if she will publish the plans for the three new underground railway lines which London Transport have drawn up in conjunction with British Railways and have submitted to her for approval.

My right hon. Friend will decide as soon as she can whether to approve the Board's proposals to extend the Victoria line to Brixton, and the Holborn—Aldwych line to Waterloo, and, if she approves them, the method of finance. The Fleet line proposal has not yet been submitted to her formally.London Transport's Annual Report for 1965, of which there is a copy in the Library, contains a plan of these three proposals.

asked the Minister of Transport what proposals she has received from London Transport to build multi-storey car parks at undergound stations; whether these proposals have been costed by her from the standpoint of social benefits as well as on orthodox financial grounds; whether it is her policy to make it a condition of approval that such parks should be able to sell services for cars; and whether she will make a statement.

My right hon. Friend has received no such proposals, although London Transport is rapidly increasing the amount of surface parking space at its stations. In assessing any such proposals she would take account of the social benefits they would confer. Legislation will be introduced in due course to empower London Transport to sell services for cars at its car parks.

asked the Minister of Transport why, in view of the undertaking given in a Parliamentary Answer on 22nd July 1964 that the footbridge over the A63 at Walton would be constructed within eight months and the fact that tenders were accepted 15 months later in October 1965, this footbridge has not yet been started; and when completion is now expected.

The steel structure of the bridge is being manufactured. Work on the concrete foundations will begin this month. Erection of the bridge on site will follow, and completion is expected about October.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will publish a list of those enterprises which are not charities but are in receipt of an Arts Council grant.

The check being made by the Arts Council is not complete. As soon as it is, I will send the list to the hon. Lady.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will publish a list of those enterprises and individuals in receipt of Arts Council grant.

Information about recipients of Arts Council grants is published in the Council's Annual Reports. I am sending the hon. Lady a copy of the last one. Any further particulars required can best be obtained direct from the Arts Council.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how much money the Government are spending this year on cancer research; and how much he estimates is being spent in total by voluntary organisations.

Excluding capital expenditure, the Medical Research Council expects to spend approximately £1·27 million specifically on cancer research in 1966–67, but it is not possible to estimate the amount of Exchequer funds derived from grants given on the advice of the University Grants Committee to universities and medical schools which is devoted to cancer research, or the amount spent by hospitals within the National Health Service. Moreover much basic research which is financed by the Medical Research Council and universities may have an important bearing on the problems of the disease.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what steps he is taking to make good by grant the increased incidence of taxation on artistic enterprises.

The large majority of artistic enterprises in receipt of grant from the Arts Council are charities and will thus have the Selective Employment Tax refunded to them in full.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science when he will reconsider the decision not to include the building of the new National Portrait Gallery in the Government's Capital Development Plan for museums and galleries announced in 1964.

The Plan to which the hon. Member refers was never intended to be inflexible. The aim has always been to keep it under review in the light of the progress of individual schemes. The possibility that the new building for the National Portrait Gallery might be started during the period covered by the Plan was envisaged from the outset, although this was not one of the projects actually named in the Plan. That is still the position and I am not yet able to say anything further.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what are the reasons which have led him to continue the ban on the export of those grades of meat for which there is no market in this country.

I am satisfied that only exceptionally was there no market in this country for the livestock and meat whose export has been affected by the ban.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will now remove the restrictions on the export of meat and livestock imposed because of the seamen's strike.

After very careful examination of the meat supply situation, in consultation with the trade, I have decided that further continuation of the ban would not be justified. Arrivals by the short sea routes have of course begun again; they are expected to continue at or above normal levels. Arrivals by the longer routes for the remainder of the year now seem likely to be such as will permit a normal pattern of marketing of both chilled and frozen beef and of frozen lamb.My right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade is accordingly revoking from mid-night tonight the Order which he made on 18th May. The effect is I hat carcase meat exports will no longer require a licence. Applications for licences to export live cattle, sheep and pigs for slaughter may be submitted for consideration on the same basis as before 18th May.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence how many British troops are stationed in Thailand; where they are stationed; and how long they will remain there.

About 400, at Bangkok and Loeng Nok Tha. Those who are building the airfield at Loeng Nok Tha will be withdrawn when it is complete.

asked the Minister of Aviation whether the loans made by British Overseas Airways Corporation to British Overseas Airways Corporation-Cunard Limited for the purpose of acquiring aircraft now pay interest at a commercial rate; and if he will make a statement.

The interest-free loan made by B.O.A.C. to B.O.A.C.-Cunard was, as I explained to the House in the debate on the Air Corporations Bill, a proper transaction within the commercial discretion of B.O.A.C. I understand, however, this loan is being repaid and replaced as from the 1st July, 1966 by a loan at a commercial rate of interest.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action he is taking regarding allegations of misconduct against the Metropolitan Police which have been submitted to him by the hon. Member for Holborn and St. Pancras, South; and if he will make a statement.

I referred these allegations to the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis who is responsible for the investigation of complaints against members of his force. The Commissioner has had very full inquiries made and, in accordance with Section 49(3) of the Police Act, 1964, referred the report of the investigation to the Director of Public Prosecutions. The Director is satisfied that there is no evidence to justify any criminal proceedings against any of the police officers. I am writing fully to the hon. Member.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what are the approximate costs per week, including overheads and all relevant charges, for keeping a child in a remand home, a child in a Borstal institution, a woman in Holloway Prison, a man in a closed prison, and a man in an open prison, respectively.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what is the annual cost of keeping a man in close prison and open prison, respectively;(2) what is the annual cost of keeping a child in a remand home and a Borstal, respectively;

In the financial year 1964–65 the average weekly costs in England and Wales of keeping a person in a remand home, borstal and in prison were £19 14s. 7d., £20 8s. 11d. and £18 3s. 1d., respectively. Corresponding annual costs were £1,029, £1,067 and £947. All figures include capital expenditure; those for remand homes also include an apportionment of local authority administrative expenditure but those for prisons and borstals do not include any apportionment of central Home Office administrative costs.Separate figures relating to the cost of keeping a prisoner in a particular prison, or type of prison, are not available.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action he will take to amalgamate borough police forces who before 27th June, 1966, asked him for an extension of the period for consideration of the proposed amalgamation schemes; what considerations and replies he has given to local authorities who have asked him to suspend such amalgamation proposals in view of the impending report on the Royal Commission for Local Government, who have stated a preference for voluntary amalgamation in view of special local conditions and conurbation problems, and who have requested him to amend the Police Act, 1964, Section 1, subsections 1 and 2, to permit such voluntary amalgamations; and if he will make a statement.

I have extended the time for reply where local discussions are in progress, but for the reasons I have already explained I am convinced that the amalgamations are too urgent to await the report of the Royal Commission. As regards the last part of the Question, I have agreed to receive deputations from the Association of Municipal Corporations and the North Western County Boroughs' Association, but I do not think that the case for waiting until the Police Act has been amended has yet been made out.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the number and percentage of borough police authorities who have at 27th June, 1966, intimated their willingness to enter into amalgamation schemes as proposed by him; and if he will make a statement.

Thirteen county borough police authorities; or 22½ per cent. As regards the second part of the Question, I have nothing to add to the Answer which I gave to a Question by the hon. Member for St. Helens (Mr. Spriggs) on 30th June.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he is aware that the number of coloured Commonwealth immigrants for the month of April was 8,751 against 6,000 for April 1965; what new restrictions he proposes to impose to achieve the limited number set out in the Government White Paper; and if he will make a statement.

The figure 8,751 is the net balance of immigration for April 1966 of all Commonwealth citizens subject to Part I of the Commonwealth Immigrants Act, 1962. The corresponding figure for April 1965 was 8,849. The numerical limit announced in the White Paper (Cmnd. 2739) was on the number of vouchers to be issued to Commonwealth citizens who wish to come here for employment; and that limit has been maintained.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government when the amendment to Schedule 1, Part 1A, of Regulation 4 of the Building Regulations (1965), at present in draft form, will become effective.

This draft amendment to the Building Regulations, which relates to the siting of small garden sheds, greenhouses and the like, is one of a number which have been under consideration by the Building Regulations Advisory Committee. My right hon. Friend is considering their advice, and his decisions will be reflected in a statutory instrument which he expects to lay before Parliament very shortly.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government whether he is aware that the Greater London Council is proposing to increase the salaries of a number of its officials by a further 10 per cent. bringing the senior clerk's salary to £10,000 per annum; and, as this is contrary to Government policy, if he will refer this matter to the National Board for Prices and Incomes.

The proposals to which my hon. Friend refers are the outcome of a review by two independent consultants who were appointed by the Greater London Council to advise on the appropriate salary scales for the Council's chief and senior officers. They do not provide for percentage increases or for the payment of any salaries as high as £10,000 per annum.The Council have not yet reached any decision but have notified the proposals under the early warning arrangements. They are now under consideration from the point of view of consistency with incomes policy.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government what he is doing to increase the production of factory-built houses.

The main need is to create among local authorities a greater demand for houses for which production capacity exists. That was the purpose of the industrialised building drive my right hon. Friend launched last December, along lines explained in Circular No. 76/65 of which I am sending my hon. Friend a copy.

asked the Minister of Land and Natural Resources whether he will make a statement about the re- constitution of the National Parks Commission as the Countryside Commission, as proposed in the White Paper on Leisure in the Countryside.

Formal reconstitution must await legislation, but I have taken the first steps towards the process of reconstitution by appointing a smaller Commission, the membership of which is shown below. The statutory responsibilities of the Commission remain unchanged, but I am sure its members will be thinking forward to the time when it has a wider responsibility.

• Lady Wootton.
• Mr. Aubrey Buxton.
• Mrs. E. Davies.
• Mr. James Fisher.
• Mr. Elwyn Jones.
• Mr. Cecil King.
• Sir William Lindsay.
• Professor O. R. McGregor.
• Mr. Peter Shepheard.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the total cost incurred by Government Departments in preparing answers to Members' Questions since 31st March, 1966; and if he will state the average cost of each Question.

The Answer I gave to the hon. Member for Sudbury and Woodbridge (Mr. Stainton) on 29th October, 1965, showed an average cost a year ago of £10 10s. 11d. for oral and £7 11s. 4d. for Written Questions. The cost of preparing that Answer was over £2,000 in the Treasury alone.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will give an estimate of the total yield in the last convenient 12 months of revenue from aviation gasoline used on internal scheduled services by piston-engined aircraft within the United Kingdom.

No reliable estimate is available, but the total yield of duty from aviation gasoline in the financial year 1965–66 was about £4½ million.

asked the Postmaster-General when he expects that colour television will be available for viewers in the West Riding of Yorkshire.

Towards the end of next year, when the B.B.C. expects to start colour transmissions on B.B.C.2, which is, I understand, now available to much of the West Riding of Yorkshire.

asked the Postmaster-General if he will make arrangements for elderly people to pay their gas accounts at local post offices.

Yes. When the National Giro starts in 1968, anyone who wishes to will be able to pay his gas account at a post office, provided his Gas Board has a Giro account. The Post Office is already discussing with Gas Boards how this can best be arranged.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he will publish a table showing the annual actual expenditure on township roads within the seven crofting counties, county by county, in each year since the war, and the extent to which this expenditure has varied in real terms, taking 1945 as the base year.

The annual Exchequer payments made for the improvement of township roads in each crofting county from 1946 onwards are set out below. Figures for the associated county council expenditure are not available and cannot be calculated readily because of variations in the rates of grant; but it is estimated that the Exchequer payments averaged approximately 70 per cent. of the gross expenditure during the period. There is no index for comparing township road constructional costs from year to year.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he will circulate in the OFFICIAL REPORT the names of

Yes. The following is information: