asked the President of the Board of Trade how many complaints from members of the public or Members of Parliament have been received by his Department since 20th July, 1966, about specific increases in prices; and in how many cases he took action to reduce prices.

My Department has received 5,150 complaints about price increases since 20th July, 1966. Action has been taken to inquire into all these complaints, except where the price increase was already known to be justifiable from information available in the Department.

asked the President of the Board of Trade how many applications to increase prices have been made to his Department by manufacturers or retailers since 20th July, 1966; and in how many cases the requested increase was approved.

Five hundred and twenty-five notifications of proposed price increases have been received and 350 of these have been found acceptable within the criteria of the relevant White Papers on prices and incomes policy.

asked the President of the Board of Trade, what was the value at 1960 prices of the imports of tobacco from non-sterling areas, free on board, for the six months ending 31st December in each of the years from 1963 to 1966.

This information is not available, but particulars of tobacco imported from the non-sterling area in these periods are as follows:— Quantity Imported Value (c.i.f.) '000 lb. £'000 1960 … 213,492 65,331 July—December, 1963 … 125,929 43,108 July—December, 1964 … 107,127 38,547 July—December, 1965 … 85,017* 32,511* July—December, 1966 … 125,329* 45,187* * Excluding Rhodesia (part of non-sterling area from 1965).

asked the President of the Board of Trade, what facilities are available on the Lancashire coast to check, by means of boats or otherwise, suspected oil slicks at sea.

The Board of Trade have standing arrangements under which captains of civil and military aircraft report floating oil patches seen near our shores. On receipt of these reports H.M. Coastguard immediately notify local authorities whose beaches may be threatened so that they can take whatever further measures they consider necessary to check the reports. This can often be done with the co-operation of fishing vessels and civilian aircraft.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he will provide a table showing the two-way flow of payments for licensing, royalties, patents and other forms of technology between the United Kingdom and the United States of America, showing the balance in each case of this invisible trade and how these results compare with those, derived from international sources of information, for Europe, including the United Kingdom and the United States of America.

The information available, which relates to the total of all payments of the kinds described, is given in the following table:— ESTIMATES OF THE TECHNOLOGICAL BALANCE OF PAYMENTS WITH THE UNITED STATES £ million Receipts Expenditure Balance United Kingdom* 1964 8 28 -20 1965 10 33 -23 Eight European countries† 1963 or 1964 19 96 -77 * Estimates based on the Board of Trade's inquiry into overseas transactions. † The sum, converted to sterling, of unpublished estimates made by O.E.C.D. from information supplied, on the basis adopted in national statistics, by France, the Republic of Ireland, Italy and Sweden for 1963, and by Austria, Western Germany, Greece and the United Kingdom for 1964.

asked the President of the Board of Trade (1) how many people are currently employed in the 124 advance factories so far authorised by Her Majesty's Government; and how many of these people are employed in Scotland;

(2) how many jobs have been lost by redundancy in Board of Trade advance factories since 20th July, 1966.

A total of 1,013, of whom 799 are men, are currently employed in the 16 factories so far occupied of the 124 authorised since October, 1964. Of these 181 (92 men and 89 women) are employed in Scotland.

No jobs have been notified as having been lost by redundancy in any of these factories since 20th July, 1966.

asked the Minister of Social Security what was the estimated number of self-employed, as defined by the National Insurance Acts, in 1964, 1965 and 1966, respectively; and what increase is expected to follow the decision confirming the self-employed status of personnel previously employed by Trago Mills of Liskard.

The number of insured persons contributing at the self-employed rate in 1964 and 1965 was about 1,420,000. The corresponding figure for 1966 is not yet available but I have no reason to suppose that it will differ significantly from that for the earlier two years. The decision given in the case of four persons working at Trago Mills was to the effect that three of them were self-employed. This case was decided on its own particular facts and I see no reason to expect that the decision will lead to any appreciable increase in the numbers of persons classified as self-employed for the purposes of the National Insurance Acts.

asked the Postmaster-General what steps he is taking to end the national shortage of telephone exchange equipment which is being used by his Leeds office, as a reason for their inability to install telephones in the Louth district, as is shown in the correspondence sent to him by the hon. Member for Louth.

We are doing all we can to overcome the present national shortage of exchange equipment to which my Leeds office referred. This year we plan to spend on exchange equipment more than double the amount of two years ago. Supplies are being delayed due to the enormous pressure on manufacturing output, but I am satisfied that the manufacturers, too, are making great efforts to meet our requirements.

asked the Minister of Power, what is his policy with regard to the use of the Welsh language on his Department's buildings, installations and vehicles in Wales.

I am prepared to arrange for notices in both English and Welsh wherever I am satisfied this is justified.

asked the Minister of Power, what part of the proposed increase in electricity charges arises because of the requirement on the Central Electricity Generating Board to raise extra capital for the building of nuclear, instead of conventional, power stations.

The effect is insignificant.

asked the Minister of Power, what part of the proposed increase in electricity prices is attributable to the Government's policy of requiring the Central Electricity Generating Board to use more coal than is justified on commercial grounds.

I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given to my hon. Friend the Member for Normanton (Mr. Albert Roberts) on 9th May.—[Vol. 746, c. 181. ]

asked the Minister of Power, what are the most recent estimates of the cost of electricity to be produced at Oldbury and Wylfa nuclear power stations; and how these compare with the original estimates submitted to him.

The most recent estimates for Oldbury and Wylfa are 0.69d./KWh and 0.65d./KWh respectively; these compare with the original estimates of 0.73d./KWh and 0.66d./KWh.

These figures are based on an assumed station life of 20 years, 75 per cent. load factor and 7½ per cent. interest rates, but a lower figure for Oldbury (0.66d./KWh) was originally calculated at 6 per cent. interest and given to the House in reply to a Question by my hon. Friend the Member for Normanton (Mr. Albert Roberts) on 16th July, 1962.—[Vol. 663, c. 24.] The figure of 0.66d./KWh for Wylfa was given in reply to a Question by the hon. Member for Orpington (Mr. Lubbock) on 22nd July, 1963.—[Vol. 681, c. 166.]

asked the Minister of Power how much of the fuel oil being used in power stations is imported from refineries abroad; and what is the cost.

The information readily available does not distinguish home refined from imported fuel oil in the supplies to power stations. In 1966 total inland deliveries of fuel oil, at 29 million tons, were roughly in balance with refinery output. The average value of all fuel oil imported in 1966 was £5.28 per ton.

asked the Minister of Power what has been the percentage increase in the estimated cost of power from the Dungeness B nuclear station since the Central Electricity Generating Board's appraisal was approved by him in the summer of 1965.

Nearly 12 per cent.

asked the Minister of Power when he expects to announce his decision on the application of the Central Electricity Generating Board for permission to build nuclear power stations at Heysham in Lancashire and Seaton Carew in Durham.

Not before the autumn.

asked the Minister of Power if he is satisfied that the existing gas distributing mains, designed for low pressure towns' gas, will be capable of handling safely the higher pressures required for natural gas; and if he will make a statement.

Yes. The pressures required for natural gas in low pressure distributing mains are no greater than those increasingly being used in existing systems supplying conventional town gas.

asked the Minister of Technology, if he is aware of the latest forecasts of output for the mechanical engineering industry, produced by a working party of the Economic Development Committee for Mechanical Engineering; what are his estimates of output by the industry; and if he will make a statement.

This latest report from the working party on short-term trends in the mechanical engineering industry represents no change from the forecasts made in the two previous reports. The conclusion is in accordance with my Department's expectation. These forecasts are always subject to revision as later information becomes available.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, whether he is satisfied that the divisional veterinary staff are able to cater for the demand from herd owners wishing to be admitted to the register established under the Brucellosis Eradication Scheme, and that testing facilities are now adequate; and if he will make a statement.

So far as I can tell from the first few weeks of the Scheme, my veterinary staff are able to cater for herd owners wishing to be admitted to the register of brucellosis accredited herds. Preliminary inspections have already been made for over one-third of the 3,000-odd applications received during the first six weeks.

Similarly there is so far no indication of difficulty about laboratory facilities for official tests.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, what proportion of the various capital grants to the farming community is followed by on-the-farm inquiries to verify whether grants made are used to finance the purchase of the implements for which they were requested.

No grant is paid in the expectation that a farmer or grower will purchase equipment or that work will be done. Leaving aside investment grants, every grant made in respect of the provision of equipment or the execution of works is paid only after one of our officers has visited the holding and verified that the equipment has been supplied or the works carried out, and, if the grant is based on actual costs, invoices must be produced.

Investment grants are paid only against receipted invoices or a certificate from the vendor and a check on the farm is made in a sample of cases. Each instalment of a grant in respect of the carrying out of a programme to promote business efficiency is paid only after a visit has established that satisfactory progress is being made with the programme. Grants towards equipment for marketing projects are paid against evidence of purchase, but reports on its use are required.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many complaints from members of the public or Members of Parliament have been received by his Department since 20th July, 1966 about specific increases in prices; and in how many cases he took action to reduce prices.

My Department received over 4,000 complaints up to the end of May, though not all of them referred to specific price increases. All the complaints were followed up, unless the justification for the price increase was already known.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many applications to increase prices have been made to his Department by manufacturers or retailers since 20th July, 1966; and in how many cases the requested increase was approved.

Between 20th July, 1966 and 2nd June, 1967 my Department received 206 notifications of proposed price increases by manufacturers. Of these, I have accepted 82 as notified, and a further 70 after modification, as being in accordance with the Government's policy. In addition, six notifications were accepted for implementation after 30th June under the criteria set out in Cmnd. 3235.

There has been no request to retailers to notify proposed prices increases.

asked the Minister of Transport how many applications to increase prices have been made to her Department by manufacturers or retailers since 20th July, 1966; and in how many cases the requested increase was approved.

The Department has received one notification of a proposed price increase by a manufacturer which was considered to be acceptable within the criteria of the relevant White Paper.

asked the Minister of Transport how many complaints from members of the public or Members of Parliament have been received by her Department since 20th July, 1966 about specific increases in prices; and in how many cases she took action to reduce prices.

The Department has received 679 complaints. All were followed up unless, from information available to the Department, the justification for the increase was already known.

asked the Minister of Transport when she will make a decision concerning parking restrictions on the A30 at Camberley; and for how long this matter has been under consideration by her department.

The Divisional Road Engineer met representatives of the Surrey County Council, the Camberley Urban District Council and the Police last November to discuss the county council's suggestions for additional parking restrictions here. At that meeting the authorities concerned were asked to let the D.R.E. have their views on certain proposals. These were not all received until recently and they are now being considered by the D.R.E. We will decide whether a new traffic regulation order is necessary in the light of advice from the D.R.E., but no final decision will be taken before we have considered any representations made in response to the formal advertisement of a draft Order.

asked the Minister of Transport (1) if she will carry out a survey of the traffic passing through Felton, Northumberland, in view of the fact that 17 accidents occurred in the village in 1965 and 14 in 1966;

(2) whether, in view of the number of accidents on the A1 road in Felton, Northumberland, she will put forward the date for the commencement of the bypass avoiding the village.

This scheme will be considered for inclusion in the next extension of the trunk road preparation pool, with due regard to the accident record and traffic volumes. A further traffic survey will not be required at present as comparatively recent traffic information is already available.

asked the Minister of Transport, whether she will put further cautionary signs up on the A1 on either side of the village of Felton in Northumberland, in order to slow down traffic and prevent a repetition of the accidents that have occurred.

No. Apart from the arrangements now being made to replace the existing 30 m.p.h. speed limit signs by larger and more conspicuous signs on the approaches to the village, the existing signing should be sufficient.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will state the low-level dash requirements of the British version of the F111.

I would refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to a similar Question which he asked on 14th April.—[Vol. 744, c. 246. ]

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether computers installed in Government Departments are made available for use by local government authorities.

Not for regular work, but some short-term tasks have been carried out by local arrangement.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether it is still his intention not to seek agreement on the funding of Her Majesty's Government's debts to the International Monetary Fund and foreign central banks reaching maturity in 1970 and 1971.

I would refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Lewisham, West (Mr. Dickens) on 18th April.—[Vol. 745, c. 293]

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if private donations to Israel are subject to exchange control regulations; and if he will make a statement.

Private donations by U.K. residents to Israel, as to any non-sterling country, are subject to exchange control. They may be made within the normal cash gift allowance of £50 a year for each resident for all such gifts to non-sterling countries. In addition, it is the practice to give consent for larger remittances for specifically charitable purposes to any non-sterling country.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what stocks of tobacco were held in Great Britain in each of the three latest years for which figures are available.

Separate information for Great Britain is not available, but for the United Kingdom I would refer my hon. Friend to the monthly figures of warehouse stocks of leaf tobacco which appear in Table 43 of the Monthly Digest of Statistics.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, if he will list the existing treaties which would be affected by an entry into the Common Market, showing briefly how each would be affected.

This is not practicable, since the question of how membership of the European Economic Community affected our existing treaties would be dependent both on the date of our entry and on the conditions of admission.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what military commitments exist to Arab states now at war with Israel; and what steps are being taken to end them.

This country has no military commitments to any of the Arab states at present actively engaged in hostilities with Israel; and none which is inconsistent with the United Nations charter.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he will instruct the British delegate to the United Nations to submit to the General Assembly the evidence available to Her Majesty's Government on the Egyptian air force's poison gas attacks on Yemeni civilians.

I would refer the hon. Gentleman to my reply to the hon. Gentleman the Member for Cheltenham (Mr. Dodds-Parker) on 8th June.—[Vol. 747, c. 254.]

asked the Minister of Labour what are the highest rates of unemployment in Wales, and in what districts; how these compare with those in England; and why Welsh unemployment is persistently high.

The Welsh districts with the highest percentage unemployment rates on 8th May, 1967 were Porthcawl (9.5), Caerphilly with Senghenydd (8.6), Rhondda (8.5), Risca (8.3) and Anglesey (8.3), Corresponding districts in England are Gunnislake (13.0), Brixham (9.3), Salt-burn (8.5), Helston (8.2), Thorne (8.2) and Whitby (8.0). The relatively high unemployment in the Principality is mainly due to a concentration particularly in South Wales, of declining older industries. Government policy is to encourage diversification and modernisation to expand employment.

asked the Minister of Labour how many jobs have been lost in the last i6 years in textiles, mining and agriculture in the North-West region; and how this compares with the jobs lost in Scotland in agriculture, mining and shipbuilding during the same period.

The only reliable and comprehensive figures for these industries in the North-Western region and in Scotland are those derived from the changes in the numbers employed and relate to the middle of the year.

Following are the changes between 1950 and 1966 in employees in employment for the industries concerned.

NORTH WESTERN REGION ( Thousands ) Textiles … -180 Mining and quarrying … -30 Agriculture and horticulture … -17

SCOTLAND ( Thousands ) Agriculture and horticulture … -37 Mining and quarrying … -41 Shipbuilding and ship repairing … -18

asked the Minister of Labour what was the total number of registered persons in employment in Scotland in October, 1964, and at the latest convenient date.

Estimates of the total numbers employed in Scotland were made at mid-year only up to June, 1965, and subsequently at quarterly intervals.

The total numbers employed in Scotland at June, 1964, and September, 1966, were estimated to be 2,132,000 and 2,178,000 respectively.

asked the Minister of Labour what was the total number of registered persons in employment in the county of Angus and in the city of Dundee in October, 1964, and at the latest convenient date.

Estimates of the numbers employed for areas smaller than regions are available for mid year only.

Following is the information: County of Angus (Thousands) Dundee (including Broughty Ferry) (Thousands) Mid-1964 … 121.5 90.6 Mid-1965 … 121.9 92.1

Estimates for mid-1966 will be available at the end of the month and I will write to the hon. Member.

asked the Minister of Health whether he is aware that the waiting list for admission to chronic sick accommodation in the North Staffordshire area has reached a record figure of 528 cases; and whether he will take steps to make additional facilities available.

I am aware of the situation in this area. A geriatric assessment unit with 84 beds and a geriatric day hospital are to be provided at the City General Hospital, Stoke, and work is expected to begin during 1969–70.

asked the Minister of Health what plans he has for raising nursing standards in the care of the elderly in the mental hospitals.

There is already a high standard of psychiatric nursing, but the professional and other bodies concerned, and my Department, are always seeking to improve it.

asked the Minister of Health if he will take steps to encourage hospital management committees to admit the Press to their meetings.

I have emphasised to hospital management committees the importance of cultivating good relations and mutual confidence with the Press. Each committee must, however, be free to decide the extent to which it is suitable for members of the Press to attend meetings at which matters concerning individual patients or staff are discussed.

asked the Minister of Health how many persons are awaiting admission to hospitals in Coventry either in general or geriatric wards; and what is the longest period any person has been waiting for admission to such hospitals.

5,905; 6½ years.

asked the Minister of Health how many local health authorities undertake health education in their areas; and to what extent is this provided in schools.

All local health authorities undertake health education using a wide range of skilled staff and techniques. Although information is riot available about the extent to which health education is provided in schools, there is no doubt that it plays a considerable and increasing rôle in school curricula.

asked the Minister of Health what percentage of the gross national income of the United Kingdom is spent on the health services; and how this percentage compares with that spent in France, Germany, Italy, Holland, Belgium, Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland, respectively.

Health service expenditure amounted to just over 4½ per cent, of the gross national product for 1965–66. Comparable figures for the other countries are not available.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government how many county councils, county borough councils, non-county borough councils, urban district and rural district councils in England and Wales have installed computers; and what advice is given by his Department to ensure that such computers can be shared by other local authorities to ensure their full utilisation.

The latest available figures are: the Greater London Council, 47 counties, 33 county boroughs, 20 non-county boroughs (including 11 London boroughs), four urban districts and one rural district.

The Department's circular 31/66 asked authorities contemplating the installation of a computer to seek the guidance of the Local Government Computer Committee, which has supplied these figures. The committee encourage joint and shared schemes wherever possible.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government if he is aware that hardship and loss is caused to residents and property owners by reason of planning permission for adjacent or neighbouring properties; and if he will make local planning authorities require applicants for planning permission to display upon the property concerned, in such a way as to be easily read by all affected, a copy of such application immediately it has been lodged with the planning authority.

My right hon. Friend has no power to require planning authorities to do this. There are already legal and administrative arrangements for publicity for certain kinds of development which might have an adverse effect on the neigbourhood, and he agrees that these should not be interpreted restrictively.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government what reserves of equipment are held ready and available to deal with oil pollution on the Lancashire coast in quantities too great to be dealt with by the resources of the individual local authorities.

Unless pollution is on a very large scale, the Lancashire coastal authorities should be able to deal with it from their own resources, purchasing or hiring any additional equipment needed. They received last month from the Department up-to-date guidance on the methods to be used. For really large-scale pollution, equipment held by the Department for civil defence purposes could be made available. My right hon. Friend is considering, in the light of the "Torrey Canyon" operation, whether further precautions are needed.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government how many complaints from members of the public or Members of Parliament have been received by his Department since 20th July, 1966 about specific increases in prices; and in how many cases he took action to reduce prices.

819 of which 51 were from Members of Parliament. All complaints were followed up unless, from information available to the Department, the justification for the increases was already known.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government how many applications to increase prices have been made to his Department by manufacturers or retailers since 20th July, 1966; and in how many cases the requested increase was approved.

None.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government (1) if he will state the amount of loan sanction granted, in each of the last three years for which figures exist, to the Greater London Council and each of the London boroughs for new building work allocated to direct labour departments and to other contractors, respectively;

(2) if he will state the amount of new building work allocated to the direct labour departments of the Greater London Council and the London boroughs as a proportion of those authorities' total building programme in each of the last three years for which figures exist.

I regret that comprehensive information on the allocation of all new building work to direct labour departments is not available, nor is information on the sub-division of loan sanctions as between direct labour departments and other contractors.

Details on the allocation of work on new dwellings are given in the table below:— DWELLINGS ALLOCATED TO DIRECT LABOUR DEPARTMENTS AS A PERCENTAGE OF ALL DWELLINGS IN TENDERS APPROVED Percentages 1964 1965 1966 Greater London Council (L.C.C. to 1.4.65) 3.8 14.3 12.2 London Boroughs 13.1* 17.6 13.2 * This figure refers to dwellings in the London Boroughs as now constituted.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government how many cases have been referred to the rent officer in Coventry under the Rent Act, 1966; and in how many cases a reduction in rent has been agreed by the parties or ordered by the rent assessment committee.

201 applications for registration of rent had been made to the rent officer for Coventry up to 2nd June, 1967 and of these 170 had been determined. The original rent was reduced in 57 cases, unchanged in 46 and increased in 67. Six cases were referred to a committee, who in each case determined a rent above that determined by the rent officer but still below the original rent.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government whether the recent changes in the management of the National Building Agency will affect the Agency's functions.

The Chairman of the Agency has now issued, with the agreement of the Secretary of State for Wales and myself, a statement about the functions of the Agency in England and Wales. The statement makes it clear that the Agency will continue to be mainly concerned with promoting productivity in house building. The full statement is as follows:

FUTURE ACTIVITIES OF THE NATIONAL BUILDING AGENCY IN ENGLAND AND WALES

No change is proposed in the basic constitution and terms of reference of the Agency. Its main functions in the immediate future will be, in co-operation with the Ministry of Housing and Local Government, and the Welsh Office, to help improve productivity, consistent with reasonable price and quality of the dwelling and the environment, in both public and private housebuilding. It will provide services to building clients, in particular the public authorities and their professional advisers, and to manufacturing and building firms predominantly engaged in housing. (Reference to public authorities includes local housing authorities and consortia, new town corporations, Government departments, housing associations and other semi-public building organisations.)

These services will include: (1) Appraisal of housing systems—and related studies (for example, plan analyses and joints in precast systems) arising from the application of industrialised or rationalised techniques to housing. (2) Information services to industry on industrialised housing, for both the public and private sectors, including technical reports, market analyses, and performance specifications—some of them confidential. (3) Consultancy services to public authorities on the management and organisation of housing programmes, including the 286 preparation of networks and proposals for co-ordination of inter-departmental work. (4) Advisory professional services to public authorities to encourage the fullest use of improved building techniques in housing programmes. These services cover contract procedures, the selection of contractors and of systems or techniques, planning and design disciplines, cost control and the briefing of private consultants. (5) Consultancy services to direct labour departments, and equally to housing contractors on the introduction of more efficient management and control. (6) Development work including live building projects, to be agreed with the Ministry, to demonstrate or to investigate particular problems associated with the rationalisation and industrialisation of housing. (7) Full professional services for the Housing Corporation. (8) Work in assisting the transition to metric measure and the introduction of new metric components. (9) An extended training programme in cooperation with the Construction Industry Training Board for technical and administrative staffs of local authorities and of private firms, to encourage better pre-contract coordination, improved management and financial techniques and new building methods. (10) Where requested by the Ministry or local authorities to undertake the role of a central co-ordinating body for selected programmes of industrialised housing in the public sector. This work may include the assessment and clarification of requirements, the preparation of feasibility studies and of programme networks, and co-ordination of the work of professional teams representing the Ministry and the building clients.

There will be continuing liaison between the Agency and the Ministry on all aspects of the Agency's work and its future development. The Agency itself will make suggestions to the Ministry for extending its functions as the circumstances may require.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales whether he will give an undertaking that the boundaries of development areas in Wales will not be affected by any change in local authority boundaries which he might propose.

The boundaries of development areas are related to local employment exchange areas and not to those of local authorities.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales why the application by the Denbighshire County Council for loan sanction for new county offices has been refused, in view of the substantial need for new accommodation for the county council staff.

My right hon. Friend has received no representations from the County Council on this matter since February, 1965 when it was suggested to them that any extension to the county offices should be deferred until the future pattern of local government in Wales became clearer.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many children were in approved schools in Scotland at a recent convenient date; how many of these were there as a result of persistent absenteeism from school; and how many as a consequence of sexual offences.

At 31st March, 1967, there were 1,595 children in approved schools, of whom 35 had been committed for truancy and six for sexual offences.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he intends to include representation of the dental profession on the proposed new health education unit for Scotland.

The rôle of the new unit in relation to dental health and its relationship with the dental profession are shortly to be discussed with the British Dental Association.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many students sat the leaving examination for the Scottish Certificate at the recent presentation.

I am informed by the Scottish Certificate of Education Examination Board that 83,805 candidates in all were presented for the Scottish Certificate of Education Ordinary and Higher grade examinations in 1967.