asked the Minister of Health if he will take steps to ensure that all nurses in National Health Service hospitals are employed directly and not through private agencies.

A limit has been placed on the number of nurses hospital authorities may employ through nurses' agencies and they have been asked to take all possible steps to reduce the number employed.

asked the Minister of Health what is his latest estimate for the building of a new general hospital at Dorchester, in view of the inadequate and outdated hospital facilities of the county.

This project remains, in the Wessex Regional Hospital Board's programme, among the later of the developments expected in the period after 1970. The Board intend to complete the new district general hospital at Poole and to continue improvements and developments at other hospitals in Dorset

asked the Minister of Health what information he has as to the extent to which hospitals in England and Wales are understaffed.

I would refer the right hon. Gentleman to the reply I gave him on 14th November, which is of general application.—[Vol. 736, c. 33–4]

asked the Minister of Health when he expects the new General Hospital for Hull to be open for entry by patients; what is the reason for the current delay on the part of the building firm engaged; and whether there is a penalty clause in the building contract.

The Leeds Regional Hospital Board hopes to begin occupation in January and is studying the contractor's request for a further extension of the contract period. Reasons alleged by the contractor for delay include delays on the part of sub-contractors and difficulties over certain materials. The contract provides for the payment of liquidated and ascertained damages by the contractor in certain circumstances.

asked the Minister of Health whether he is aware that consultants at Frenchay Hospital, Bristol, are suggesting to intending patients that quicker treatment could be afforded them if they would pay for a private bed there; and if he will ensure that this practice ceases forthwith.

No. I am not aware that this is happening, but if my hon. Friend has evidence of such initiatives by consultants, I would be glad to have it.

asked the Minister of Health what representations he has received from Hull (B) Group Hospital Management Committee concerning the shortage of medical officers at Castle Hill Hospital; what reply he has sent; and if he will make a statement.

None.

asked the Minister of Health what representations he has received from the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea about the use of the Victoria Hospital site, Tite Street, Chelsea; and what reply he has sent.

The council suggested that the site should continue to be used for a purpose of direct benefit to residents of the borough.They have been informed that the site has been offered to a convent, which will be displaced by the proposed Chelsea Postgraduate Medical Centre. The convent's activities are closely linked with the community of the borough and include provision of welfare accommodation for the elderly.

asked the Minister of Health whether he is satisfied that Great Britain will retain the world lead she has at present in the development of infection control systems in hospitals; and if he will make a statement.

The intention is to maintain and improve the present high standards. Hospital authorities well understand the need to keep up to date in this field, and my right hon. Friends the Minister of Health and the Secretary of State for Scotland issue guidance for this purpose.

asked the Minister of Health if he will show in table form the correct establishment for each grade of staff at Storthes Hall Hospital, Huddersfield, and the number in each grade at the latest available date.

The information is as follows:

asked the Minister of Health how many children are waiting to have their tonsils removed under the National Health Service in the Bolton and District Hospitals' area; what is the average waiting time; how many sur- geons are available for this operation; and what steps he is taking to improve the position at an early date.

Only children up to the age of 9 are separately recorded. Of this group 479 at 31st October 1966; 7 months; 5 (1 consultant, 1 registrar, 2 clinical assistants, 1 senior house officer).The Manchester Regional Hospital Board hope to appoint a second consultant in the near future.

asked the Minister of Health how many maxillo-facial technicians and dental technicians employed on the maxillo-facial technician salary, respectively, scale are employed in each hospital board region.

Dental technicians who undertake certain duties defined in the Whitley agreement may be graded as maxillo-facial technicians and the following table gives the numbers so graded at 31st March, 1966. Hospital authorities have been asked to ensure that technicians are correctly graded.

asked the Minister of Health whether he is aware that many retired physiotherapists are unwilling to act as locums for short periods because they must now be State registered and pay an initial five guineas and two guineas annually out of their earnings; and whether he will now waive these requirements in order to keep all clinics open during the holidays.

I have nothing to add to my right hon. Friend's reply to the hon. Member's Question of 16th May.—[Vol. 728, c. 178.]

asked the Minister of Health when he now expects to announce starting date for the proposed new hospital at Frimley Park, Camberley.

I would refer the hon. Member to my replies to his Questions of 14th and 27th June.—[Vol. 729, c. 266. Vol. 730, c. 1230.]

asked the Minister of Health what statistics for the 1966 Census of Population relating to parliamentary constituencies will be published by Her Majesty's Stationery Office; and when these publications will be available.

The Registrar General has arranged to publish, probably towards the end of 1968, a volume of census statistics for Parliamentary Constituencies in the United Kingdom. These will mainly cover population structure and housing conditions but there will be some further information of an economic character about those enumerated.

asked the Minister of Health whether he is aware of the tendency of large concerns to set up their own medical organisation owing to delays in the National Health Service, with consequent loss of production by the firm and earnings by the men concerned; and what new steps he is taking to reduce these delays.

I would not accept that this development is based on such grounds, but where there are delays it is our constant concern to reduce them.

asked the Minister of Health (1) what was the percentage of babies born who were stillborn in the latest period for which figures are available in the Newcastle-upon-Tyne Hospital Region and for the United Kingdom as a whole, respectively.(2) what is the percentage of home confinements for the Newcastle-upon- Tyne Hospital Region and for the United Kingdom as a whole, respectively;

The percentages of stillbirths in the Newcastle Hospital Region and the United Kingdom in 1965 were 1·8 and 1·6 respectively; and of home births 24·9 and 24·6.

asked the Minister of Health if he will now by legislation or otherwise introduce a compulsory warning of the hazards to health of cigarette smoking, to be clearly printed in a prominent position on each pack of cigarettes sold in the United Kingdom.

Not at present.

asked the Minister of Health what is the latest evidence he has received on the effect of cigarette smoking on lung cancer; and, since the expenditure for adults on tobacco has increased from 1s. 10d. to 13s. 1d. per week, what action he proposes to take to encourage greater moderation in this habit.

The evidence which is accepted by the Government as definitive is the report of the Royal College of Physicians on Smoking and Health, published in 1962. Many studies since then have confirmed and strengthened the evidence. Our long-term campaign of health education is being pursued both centrally and locally to discourage the smoking habit.

asked the Minister of Health if he is aware of the poisonous danger to children of many kitchen scouring substances used in the kitchens of most housewives; and whether he will seek powers to instruct the manufacturers of these substances to mark them as poisonous and so warn parents of their dangers.

While we are aware that scouring powders are occasionally consumed by children, the evidence in our possession suggests that they are rarely a serious danger to health. If my hon. Friend has other evidence I shall be glad to consider it.

asked the Minister of Health what is the total number of centres for the accommodation of homeless families in England and Wales; how many families are awaiting admission to such centres; and how many centres admit the husband in such a family.

I would refer my hon. Friend to my right hon. Friend's reply of 30th November to the hon. Member for St. Ives. As this is accommodation for emergencies there is normally no waiting list.—[Vol. 737. c. 118.]

asked the Minister of Health when he intends to make regulations regarding the charging of fees to companies who require medical certificates from doctors concerning illnesses of their employees, as such certificates do not fall within the duties of doctors towards their patients under the National Health Service.

I have no power to make such regulations, but I hope that demands for such certificates can be further reduced.

asked the Minister of Health if he will now initiate an inquiry into the practice known as scientology, in view of the correspondence sent to him by one of the hon. Member for Horsham's constituents.

asked the Minister of Health if he will now initiate an inquiry into the practice known as scientology.

I do not think any further inquiry is necessary to establish that the activities of this organisation are potentially harmful. I have no doubt that scientology is totally valueless in promoting health and, in particular, that people seeking help with problems of mental health can gain nothing from the attentions of this organisation.

asked the Minister of Health what help he has offered and given to the Italian flood disaster victims.

I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply given on 2nd December to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.—[Vol. 737, c. 153.]

asked the Minister of Health how many applications for the supply of a car have been refused in the year to 31st March, 1966, where there have been two disabled members of a family, on the grounds that one was too young to hold a driving licence.

One.

asked the Minister of Health what progress is being made in providing cars as opposed to tricycles for disabled drivers.

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply given today to the hon. Members for Bebington (Mr. Brooks), Liverpool, Garston (Mr. Fortescue), Cambridge (Mr. Robert Davies), Birmingham, Edgbaston (Mrs. Knight), Somerset, North (Mr. Dean) and Shrewsbury (Sir J. Langford-Holt).

asked the Minister of Health what was the incidence of rickets in the county of Kent in each of the years 1960 to 1965.

I am informed that no cases of rickets were reported to Kent County Council during the years 1960 to 1965.

asked the Minister of Health what has been the incidence of rickets in England and Wales in each of the years 1960 to 1965.

Annual figures are not available, but a special inquiry concerning the year 1963 from Medical Officers of Health of nine large towns with a total population of about 6,200,000 disclosed 23 children with evidence of the disease.

asked the Minister of Health if he will give details of any contracts for research which his Depart-

A list of current research contracts follows:

asked the Minister of Health) if he will give the latest available number of persons who are homeless and living in temporary hostel accommodation in Great Britain;(2) at steps are being taken to improve the condition of temporary hostel accommodation for the homeless.

I would refer my hon. Friend to my reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Salford, East, on 2nd November.—[Vol. 735, c. 129–132]

asked the Minister of Health whether he will publish the annual sums spent by his Department over the last 10 years on forms of advertising to warn the public of the dangers of smoking.

The figures for expenditure by my Department on paid publicity are as follows:

asked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will make arrangements to have available in the Vote Office copies of the annual report and accounts of the Duchy.

The Duchy does not publish an annual report. The accounts are laid before Parliament, but they are not Parliamentary Papers and therefore it would be inappropriate for them to be made available in the Vote Office. To the meet the convenience of Members they are, however, placed in the Library of the House.

asked the Minister of Labour how many people during the last two months have been made redundant from manufacturing and service industries, respectively; and how many vacancies have been filled in manufacturing and service industries, respectively.

As I said in a reply to the hon. Member for Oswestry (Mr. Biffen) on 11th November, redundant workers are under no obligation to register with my Department, so no estimates of total numbers are possible. The Employment Exchanges filled 123,557 vacancies in manufacturing and 132,254 in service industries in the two months ended 9th November, 1966.—[Vol. 735, c. 387.]

asked the Minister of Labour how many places in Government training centres will be provided by 1969.

As I told the House last Wednesday, by the end of 1968 the number of places in Government Training Centres will be approaching 10,000. I am not able to say more than that at this stage.

asked the Minister of Labour how many places are available in Government industrial training centres for training older men and women in computer programming.

No courses in computer programming are provided at Government Training Centres.

asked the Minister of Labour (1) what arrangements he has made with the unions concerned for those who are retrained in a Government training centre and have passed the examination set by the London City and Guilds to be accepted as qualified by the appropriate union;(2) whether he will ensure that anyone attending a Government training centre and passing the requisite examination will not be penalised by the union of the particular craft involved because he has not served the full period of apprenticeship.

The only training scheme at Government Training Centres which includes a practical test by the City and Guilds of London Institute is that for heating and ventilating fitters.

asked the Minister of Labour how many residential training centres are proposed to be established by industrial training boards in the Northern Region.

None.

asked the Minister of Labour if, in considering the location of the fourth Government training centre to be started in the next financial year, he will pay special regard to the needs of West Durham and the availability at Brancepeth of a suitable site recently vacated by the Ministry of Defence.

An announcement about the location of the fourth new Government Training Centre is likely to be made very shortly. West Durham is already fairly well served by the training centre at Tursdale.

asked the Minister of Labour how many vacancies are at present available in Government training centres in Scotland, with particular reference to Aberdeen; what steps he is taking to solve the relevant problems and how these figures and measures compare with those there during each of the last five years.

On 21st November there were 109 vacancies at Government Training Centres in Scotland. There is no centre in Aberdeen and people from Aberdeen are free to attend any of the seven Scottish centres. Plans for expansion provide for some 200 additional places in existing centres, a new centre for Edinburgh next year and a new centre for Lanarkshire in 1968–69.The number and location of Centres in Scotland, together with numbers of places available and unfilled during the last five years are as follows:

asked the Minister of Labour what steps are being taken to ease the position of those over 40 years of age to secure employment, particularly in senior positions.

My Ministry has advocated for many years, and with some success, that engagement for employment should be on the basis of capacity to do the job, not age. One of the special difficulties is promotion policy within firms, particularly with regard to prospects in senior posts.

asked the Minister of Labour what action he proposes to take to ensure that his Department has power to advise all those over the age of 40 years and unemployed of suitable vacancies and training facilities.

The Department already has sufficient powers to carry out this work.

asked the Minister of Labour if he will initiate an urgent study of all industries in which asbestos is used, with a view to formulating new safety regulations to minimise the risk to workers in such industries of contracting mesothelioma.

I am revising the Asbestos Industry Regulations, 1931, and intend broadly to extend their application to all industries and processes in which asbestos is used. The precautions necessary to minimise the risk of mesothelioma are also being studied.

asked the Minister of Labour what steps are being taken by his Department to overcome difficulties of coloured school-leavers in finding suitable employment.

I am informed that most of this summer's coloured school-leavers have obtained suitable employment. Youth Employment Officers will continue to do their best to help any who remain unemployed.

asked the Minister of Labour if he will list the principal industries now short of manpower which it is intended should benefit from redeployment.

I would refer the hon. Member to the categories given in my speech on 21st October.—[Vol. 734, c. 681.]

asked the Minister of Labour what records he has of the redeployment of workers from the motor car industry into other export industries of a comparable labour-conversion factor; and whether he is satisfied with the redeployment of such workers.

Records are kept showing the main groups of industries to which redundant British Motor Corporation Workers have gone, and I gave details to the House on 30th November [Vol. 737, c. 460–72]. Detailed information about movement into comparable export industries is not available, but, in general, the trends revealed so far are not discouraging.

asked the Minister of Labour what is the approximate weekly cost per head of retraining engineering operatives at Government training centres, including an allowance for the capital cost of the equipment used, but excluding the trainees' wages or allowances.

About £12 5s. 0d.

asked the Minister of Labour whether, in view of the anxiety caused by the laying-off of large numbers of workers, he will give instructions that adequate and up-to-date figures of unemployment and vacancies in the Birmingham area are collated and published without delay.

The results of the monthly counts of unemployment and unfilled vacancies are available locally on the first working day after the local office returns have been completed.

asked the Minister of Labour whether he will now seek to amend the Standard Industrial Classification to permit the inclusion among manufacturing industries of those dairies which are engaged in the collection of milk from farms, its pasteurisation, bottling and distribution to consumers.

I have nothing to add to the reply which I gave on 11th November 1966 to the hon. Member for Oswestry (Mr. John Biffen).—[Vol. 735, c. 388.]

asked the Minister of Labour what has been the effect of the Selective Employment Tax upon the use of part-time labour in the distributive trades.

It is not possible to distinguish the effect of the tax from the other factors which influence the employment of part-time workers in the distributive trades.

asked the Minister of Labour whether he will make special grants available to those over 40 years of age who may wish to take private courses of retraining.

Under my Ministry's Vocational Training Scheme individual courses can be arranged, free of charge and irrespective of age, for the disabled, ex-Regular members of H.M. Forces and unemployed people with special resettlement problems. People undergoing such courses are given training allowances.

asked the Minister of Labour what were the number of people employed in manufacturing industries in the Shrewsbury areas on 5th April, 1966, and on the latest available date.

Employment estimates for local areas are made only for the midyear. It is estimated that there were 7,850 employees in manufacturing industries in the Shrewsbury Employment Exchange area at mid-June 1965, the latest date for which figures are available.

asked the Minister of Labour if he is aware that the European Atomic Organisation in its code of practice for safety regulations for industrial establishments using radioactive materials include a rule for keeping records of medical examination of exposed workers for 30 years after they have finished working in these materials; and whether he will introduce similar safety regulations in the United Kingdom.

We already have regulations which include this requirement covering people who work with sealed sources. I hope to make regulations next year to cover people working with unsealed sources. Workers in research and teaching establishments are covered by a Code of Practice which also includes this requirement.

asked the Minister of Labour if he will state the number of registered unemployed at the exchanges in the parliamentary constituency of Easington at the latest available date and the percentage as compared with the figure in June last.

Following is the information:

asked the Minister of Labour if he has been notified of the proposed wage increase by the Engineering Employers Federation for 200,000 of the lowest-paid workers in the industry; what is the estimated range of percentage increase in rates and earnings that would ultimately arise therefrom when such minimum earnings levels become consolidated in the basic rates; and if he will make a statement.

Yes; the increases in minimum earnings levels due in January, 1967, range from 1·8 per cent. to 3·9 per cent., but they would not affect rates until 1st January, 1968, when they are due to be consolidated. An accurate estimate of the ultimate effect on earnings is not possible.I am considering this proposed increase and the proposed general increase due in March, 1967, in relation to the standstill and period of severe restraint.

asked the Minister of Labour what are the numbers of registered unemployed in the constituency of Nelson and Colne at the latest available date; what were the numbers at each of the last three corresponding dates; and how the rate of increase compares with the national average over the same period.

On 14th November there were 554 registered unemployed in the Nelson and Colne employment exchange areas; in October, September and August the figures were 337, 737 and 265 respectively. Between August and November the numbers increased by 289 representing a rise of 109 per cent. compared with a rise of 71 per cent. for Great Britain.

asked the Minister of Labour whether he will now make a statement on the methods of wage and salary settlement to be applied when the present wage standstill is ended.

I would refer my hon. Friend to Parts IV and V of the White Paper on the Period of Severe Restraint (Cmnd. 3150) and to what was said in the House in the debate last week.—[Vol. 737, c. 460–72.]

asked the Minister of Labour if he will give details of any contracts for research which his Department has placed with universities of advanced technology, and of the value of such contracts.

My Ministry has so far placed no such contracts.

asked the Minister of Labour how many are affected by the recent wages council award concerning pay for managerial grades in licensed non-residential establishments; what is the estimated number earning above minimum rates; and what is the range of percentage increases in rates and average earnings, respectively.

Information is not available about the number of managers and club stewards affected by the proposals from this Wages Council, the number earning above the minimum rates, or the range of percentage increases in earnings. The range of percentage increase in rates for managers and club stewards is 3·2 per cent. to 5·1 per cent.

asked the Minister of Labour how many are affected by the recent wages council award concerning pay for brush and broom workers; what is the estimated number earning above minimum rates; and what is the range of percentage increase in rates and average earnings, respectively;(2) how many are affected by the recent wages council award concerning pay for milk distributive workers; what is the estimated number earning above minimum rates; and what is the percentage increase in rates and average earnings, respectively;(3) how many are affected by the recent wages council award concerning pay, hours, and holidays for wholesale mantle and costume workers; what is the estimated number earning above minimum rates; and what is the range of percentage increase in rates and average earnings, respectively;(4) how many are affected by the recent wages council award concerning pay, hours, and holidays for retail bespoke tailoring workers; what is the estimated number earning above minimum rates; and what is the range of percentage increase in rates and average earnings, respectively;(5) how many are affected by the recent wages council award concerning pay and holidays for hat, cap and millinery workers; what is the estimated number earning above minimum rates; and what is the range of percentage increase in rates and earnings, respectively;(6) how many are affected by the recent wages council award concerning pay, hours, and holidays for paper-bag workers; what is the estimated number earning above minimum rates; and what is the range of percentage increase in rates and earnings, respectively.

Information is not available about the numbers actually affected by recent proposals from these Wages Councils, the number earning above minimum rates, or the effect on average earnings. Estimates of the total number of workers coming within the field of operation of the wages councils concerned and the range of percentage increases in adult rates are given in the table below.

asked the Minister of Labour how many are affected by the recent wages council award concerning pay, hours and holidays for dressmaking and women's light clothing workers; what is the estimated number earning above minimum rates; and what is the range of percentage increase in rates and average earnings, respectively.

The proposals from this Wages Council which were embodied in an Order made on 30th November, effective from 1st January, 1967, concerned holidays only. The previous proposals, which related to rates and hours and were embodied in an Order made on 14th July 1966, provided for increases in the statutory minima ranging for adult workers from 4·8 per cent. to 5·5 per cent.Information is not available about the number of workers receiving more than the minimum rates or the percentage increase in average earnings and no estimate can, therefore, be made of the number affected. The total number of workers coming within the field of operation of the Council is estimated at between 140,000 and 150,000.

asked the Minister of Labour how many prosecutions each year there have been since 1951 for payments below the minimum rates established by wages councils.

The number of employers prosecuted in each year for failure to pay prescribed remuneration is as follows:

asked the Minister of Labour what is the estimated number of workers covered by wages council agreements, including the Agricultural Wages Board; and what is the estimated number earning above minimum rates.

The estimated total number of workers coming within the field of operation of Wages Councils in Great Britain is 3½ million. The number earning more than the minimum rates is not known.I understand from my right hon. Friend the Minister of Agriculture that an estimated 400,000 workers are covered by the Agricultural Wages Boards of whom approximately 325,000 earn more than the minimum rates.

asked the Minister of Labour whether he will ask industrial training boards to encourage reviews of apprenticeship periods, with a view to a substantial reduction in their lengths.

Industrial Training Boards are aware that I expect their recommendations regarding the length of the period of training to be realistically related to the content of training courses. The boards are not responsible for determining the period of apprenticeship, but I expect that their decisions on the length of training will in many instances lead to a review of apprenticeship periods by the appropriate negotiating bodies in the industry concerned.

asked the Minister of Labour what estimate he has made as to the extent to which the Selective Employment Tax is achieving its object in transferring labour from service to manufacturing industries in the Shrewsbury area.

None.

asked the Minister of Labour whether he will list by occupation the different categories of both men and women at present unemployed in the

asked the Minister of Labour what discussions he has had with the engineering industry direct or through the Engineering Industry Training Board concerning the use of company-owned training facilities on a long-term basis for retraining the growing number of unemployed; and what further action he proposes to take.

I would refer the hon. Member to my statement during the debate on economic affairs on 30th November.—[Vol. 737, c. 460–72.]

Occupational analyses of the unemployed register are made in March, June, September and December each year and relate only to wholly unemployed men and women.Following is the information for 12th September, 1966:

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether during his recent visit to Moscow he was able to discuss the case of Mr. Gerald Brooke; and if he will make a statement.

I discussed the case of Mr. Gerald Brooke with Mr. Gromyko and Mr. Kosygin. The Soviet Government did not respond to my request for clemency for Mr. Brooke, but they agreed to allow a meeting between him and the British Consul.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he will place on the agenda of the United Nations Committee on Colonialism the future of strategic and other island territories of the United States of America not incorporated in the American Union.

This Committee annually considers all the inhabited overseas United States territories which are not incorporated in the American Union, with the exception of Puerto Rico, to which special conditions apply.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what discussions he has had lately with the Guatemala Government regarding the boundaries of British Honduras; and if he will make a statement about the proposals now put forward to him at his request by the American negotiator, Mr. Bethnel Webster.

No statement can be made until the mediator submits his final proposals. It is for Mr. Webster to decide when he will be ready to do this. The boundaries of British Honduras have not been discussed either by my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary or by any other representative of Her Majesty's Government.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he will now make a statement on Mr. Roderic Bowen's report on Aden.

I have nothing to add as yet to my reply to the hon. Gentleman's Question of 28th November; but I intend to make a statement in the near future.—[Vol. 737, c. 23.]

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether Mr. Bowen's report on the treatment of Aden detainees is to be published.

I would refer my hon. Friend to my Answer today to a Question by the hon. Gentleman the Member for Haltemprice (Mr. Wall).

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what changes he has ordered in the administration of the Foreign Office since 12th August.

The administration of the Foreign Office is constantly changing and those changes which seemed desirable since I took office have been made.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he will give details of any contracts of research which his Department has placed with universities or colleges of advanced technology, and of the value of such contracts.

Research studies are occasionally commissioned from individual scholars, but the Foreign Office has no research contracts with universities or colleges of advanced technology.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he will make a statement on the matters discussed and recommendations made at the International Maritime and Communications Organisation Conference held recently in London.

The Assembly of the Intergovernmental Maritime Consultative Organisation met last week and adopted amendments to the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea, 1960. These were concerned mainly with the fire safety standards of existing passenger ships and in particular those built before November 1952. These amendments will come into force for all Contracting Governments one year after two-thirds of these Governments have accepted them. The Assembly also adopted a resolution inviting the Governments concerned to put these measures into effect as soon as possible without awaiting their formal entry into force.

asked the Minister of Land and Natural Resources how many men and women, respectively, are required to operate the Forestry Commission's headquarters at Basingstoke; and how many of them are required to have specialised knowledge of forestry.

The staff at Basingstoke where only part of the headquarters staff is stationed, numbers 106 men and 41 women; seven have a specialised knowledge of forestry.

asked the Minister of Land and Natural Resources whether he is aware of the concern felt by the agricultural community that its interests will not be fully represented on the reformed National Parks Commission; and whether he will bear this in mind when making further appointments.

asked the Minister of Land and Natural Resources whether he will now announce the membership of the National Parks Commission.

I told the hon. Member for Clitheroe (Sir Frank Pearson) on 22nd November that I would be making an announcement about the Commission in a few days.After consulting my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales, I have appointed Mr. James Fisher, who became a member of the National Parks Commission on 20th June 1966, as Deputy Chairman. At the same time I have appointed Mr. George Howard, who will be known to many hon. Members as a prominent landowner, to be a member of the Commission.I have arranged that Mr. Jack Long-land will attend all meetings of the Com- mission and will receive papers, as a representative of the Sports Council.

asked the Minister of Land and Natural Resources if he will give details of any contracts for research which his Department has placed with universities or colleges of advanced technology, and of the value of such contracts.

The details are as follows:

asked the Minister of Land and Natural Resources what steps he is taking to draw the attention of common rights holders to the necessity of registering those rights and the dangers of losing them if they fail to do so.

Over a quarter of a million copies of a free booklet have been sent out through local authorities, including parish councils, and main post offices. 40,000 posters have been issued.The start of registration on 2nd January 1967 has recently been advertised by all registration authorities in the local press.Valuable help in publicity has been given by the Commons, Open Spaces and Footpaths Preservation Society, the National Farmers' Union and other bodies.

asked the Minister of Land and Natural Resources if he will make available a report on the survey of users of the Pennine Way.

The National Parks Commission has now completed its report on the survey and I have arranged for copies to be made available in the Library.

asked the Minister of Social Security what measures she will take to raise the standard of living of families of lower paid workers.

I would refer my hon. Friend to my replies on this subject on 21st and 28th November.—[Vol. 736, c. 929–31.] [Vol. 737, c. 6–8.]

asked the Minister of Social Security whether, in view of the depreciation in the purchasing value of the pound, she will increase the present 20s. disallowance on a contributory pension income before a supplementary pension under the State scheme is reduced.

No. Under the National Assistance scheme, which ended only a week ago, not more than 15s. of an occupational pension could be disregarded.

asked the Minister of Social Security what consultations she had with the National Union of Mineworkers before the introduction of the earnings-related short-term benefits, in view of the fact that this was the only industry to take advantage of the scheme for supplementary industrial injury benefits which is also affected by the earnings-related benefits.

Consultations about the earnings-related short-term benefits scheme were not held with individual trades unions but, in accordance with the usual practice, with the Trades Union Congress on which, of course, the National Union of Mineworkers is represented. During these discussions and during the passage of the National Insurance Act, 1966, it was made clear that modification of occupational schemes, such as those which provide additional payments during incapacity for work, as a result of the new national scheme, was not a matter for my Department but for the employers concerned in negotiation with their employees.