asked the Minister of Public Building and Works to what extent he has discussed proposals for the establishment of a national register for firms in the construction industry with Professor Norman Sidwell, and other interested parties; and whether he proposes to take any action as a result of these discussions.

I met Professor Sidwell on 24th April to discuss his suggestion for setting up a national register for firms in the construction industry. I am of course anxious that standards of building should be improved but I am not at present convinced that this can best be achieved by means of a compulsory registration scheme.

Is my right hon. Friend aware that I am asking him not to establish a precedent with regard to the setting up of a register for building firms but to create a more defined form of registration such as that which existed in the immediate post-war period, because large numbers of professional men, employers and union officials, would support that policy as being favourable to the construction industry? Will my right hon. Friend consider setting up an inquiry into the matter?

My hon. Friend will be aware that the National House Builders Registration Council has been growing in strength recently. I think it better for the time being that my right hon. Friend the Minister of Housing and Local Government and I should watch the development and see how it gets on. Before we decide on anything else or set up any inquiry into the matter it is as well to see what progress is made on this front.

Would not my right hon. Friend agree that it is in the best interests of all concerned with the construction industry that such a register should be set up involving, as it would, the vetting of firms before they can be admitted to the register and ascertaining their bona fides and financial standing and their expertise in order to eliminate to a large extent shoddy building?

The Council to which I referred now covers the greater part of new house building. In major building and other fields there is usually some professional supervision of the construction, and so I am not really convinced that what is proposed would make a significant difference. However, I will consider any ideas that are put forward on the subject.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works what arrangements are made for the parking of coaches and other vehicles in the Royal Parks in the area of Buckingham Palace, particularly during the tourist season; whether he is satisfied with those arrangements; and if he will make a statement.

Both sides of Constitution Hill are available from 11.15 a.m. to 12.45 p.m. for the free parking of about 100 coaches for visitors to see the Changing of the Guard. Otherwise, coaches are directed to off-street coach parks outside St. James's and Green Parks.

Would the right hon. Gentleman not agree that there has been congestion this summer in Constitution Hill in the mornings, and as it is right to encourage tourists to come here while also having free use of the road for those who wish to pass, will he consider allowing parking at the far end of the Mall in the side road between the Duke of York's steps and Marlborough House?

It has been our practice to keep the Mall clear because of the desirability of keeping the vista open. I should like to think about the side roads. Perhaps the hon. Gentleman might care to expand his ideas in a letter and then we can give them consideration.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works what progress is being made in the com- pletion of married quarters for the armed Services in the United Kingdom.

5,032 quarters were completed in the year ending 31st March, 1967, compared with 3,668 in 1965–66 and 3,631 in 1964–65.

As there is nearly £5 million in the Estimates for new starts this year and in view of the rather drastic Service cuts, will the number of new starts for married quarters now be reduced? What decision has been reached?

No, Sir. We are at present working on a programme of 4,000 completions a year on the regular programme. To this has been added a special programme of 3,300 to be built between now and 1970–71 to cater for Servicemen returning from overseas above those which were expected. I do not see any reason to suppose that this programme may be cut at the present time.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works what action he is taking to prevent the fouling of public buildings in the Whitehall area by pigeons and starlings.

Where the birds are such a nuisance as to warrant the expense, sills and ledges on public buildings are treated from time to time with plastic compound which repels them.

Though some people in some parts of London seem to be resorting to the use of poison bait, will the right hon. Gentleman have a look at the great success of the Anglican Cathedral in Liverpool which stopped this menace by the use of virtually invisible netting?

I will consider this. I am advised that the material to which I referred is effective. It repels the birds by a sense of insecurity on landing. It seems to work fairly well. However, I am always willing to consider other ideas.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works whether he will make a statement on his policy regarding the report of the Economic Development Committee on building entitled Action on the Banwell Report.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works what is his policy regarding the Report of the Economic Development Committee for Building, on Action on the Banwell Report; and whether he will make a statement.

My representatives on the E.D.C. accepted the Working Party Report in principle and undertook that we would take prompt action on those recommendations which come within my responsibility. Many recommendations are addressed to other bodies and I hope that they will also react positively.

While the right hon. Gentleman uses the term "prompt action", is it not more than a little curious that the E.D.C. should have to commission a Report to look into what the Government have done to implement a Report three years old? Will he now take the recommendations of that Report seriously and do something to put them into effect?

I do not accept that. The Banwell Report was issued in 1964 and contained a very large number of recommendations for industry, the professions, Government Departments and local authorities. A good deal of progress has already been made on some of these. For example, the switching of emphasis towards selective tendering by public bodies has grown to a considerable extent. I think it is right that there should be a progress report of this kind which identifies the things which need more urgent action. I do not think that generally we need be disappointed.

Has the right hon. Gentleman's attention been drawn to the fact that in section 4.6 on page 11 of its Report the Committee recommends that the Ministry should revise its booklet "Selective tendering for local authorities" to include guidance on the size of the selection list? Is this not another example of a report on which no action has been taken by his Ministry?

We are urgently considering the detailed recommendations, including possible revision of the booklet.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works what representations he has received from the building industry about extra costs in the industry; and what reply he has sent.

I have received some representations from the building industry about the effects of S.E.T. on the cost of building. Individual replies have been made explaining the Government's purpose in the application of this tax.

Does not the right hon. Gentleman consider it disturbing that house prices are now rising sharply again? Does not this jeopardise the whole of the Government's housing policy, including its mortgage option scheme, because if houses become too expensive people will not be able to buy them?

We are watching everything that contributes to the increased cost of houses. I should have thought that in the last two years or so there had not been a considerable rise in the cost of new houses. But certain factors have come into the picture, including the wage increases which were postponed under the incomes policy but have now taken effect.

Is my right hon. Friend also keeping an eye on the profits which are now being made in the building industry and how they reflect themselves in costs?

We are keeping an eye on all aspects that affect costs, including profits.

Has not the threat of unforeseen menaces like S.E.T. diminished contractors' enthusiasm for firm price contracts, of which the right hon. Gentleman is presumably in favour?

No, Sir. I think that there is general acceptance of the advantage of firm price contracts. It is true that contractors do not like S.E.T., and I have had to deal with representations from them.

Can my right hon. Friend indicate to what extent the cost of the S.E.T. has been absorbed in increased efficiency by employers?

It is difficult to measure. It was, of course, always our hope that some of it would be absorbed. But even if none of it is absorbed, the increase in building costs due to it alone is only about 2 per cent.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works what representations he has received in recent months from builders about the number of starts begun this year; and what replies he has sent.

None Sir.

Does not the right hon. Gentleman recognise that a large proportion of his so-called increase in housing starts this year is a fake figure, since a number of starts were put in to avoid the levy under the Land Commission Act? Will he include in the housing statistics a new table of housing starts never completed?

The levy was a factor in accelerating starts but the effect has been exaggerated in some quarters. Recent figures suggest a considerable improvement in housing starts and building orders generally. In the first quarter of last year there were 84,000 housing starts and in the first quarter of this year over 107,000 and this is a welcome improvement.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works what information is given to the public regarding the payment by bankers' order for season tickets for entry into historic buildings under the control of his department.

None, Sir. But I will gladly examine the suggestion and see if it is possible to introduce it.

Does not the right hon. Gentleman think that there should be much more publicity about this? Would it not be a good thing to have this put on a businesslike basis so that people could make arrangements to pay by bankers' order?

I think that the answer I shall give to a later Question by the hon. Gentleman will suggest that we are selling more of these tickets and that the scheme is a success. But, of course, I am willing to examine any suggestion, including the one in this Question, which could lead to still more people taking advantage of this scheme.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works how many official season tickets for entry to historic buildings were sold in the last five calendar years.

In total, 117,860 season tickets were sold during the last five years. With permission, I will circulate the breakdown by calendar years in the OFFICIAL REPORT.

Following what I said on Question No. 10, does not the right hon. Gentleman think that sales would be greatly increased if the whole of this system were put on a more businesslike footing with a great deal more publicity? Would not this be a sensible way of increasing attendance?

The number of tickets sold has gone up by 70 per cent. since 1962 and there has been an increase in the number of people visiting monuments each year. Preliminary figures for this year show an even further increase. The scheme is undoubtedly successful but, of course, I am willing to consider any suggestions from any quarter. Perhaps the hon. Gentleman would like to be more specific in correspondence with me.

Despite the welcome increase in the numbers visiting historic buildings, is the right hon. Gentleman aware that the yield from ticket prices in no way meets the increased expenditure necessary for these buildings and that it is essential within the next five years to double the present intake from this source?

We have announced that ticket prices will be raised on 1st January from the present 10s. to 15s. Of course, we want to encourage more people to visit the monuments and we shall do all we can to this end.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works what estimate he has made of the cost to his Department of vandalism against public buildings in 1964, 1965 and 1966; and what precautionary methods are being taken to safeguard these buildings.

The figures requested are not available. For most buildings the normal precautions which would be taken by a householder suffice. Where there is a high risk of vandalism or burglary, night watchmen are employed.

Has the right hon. Gentleman noticed any increase in vandalism over recent years? If he has failed to stop it, can he nevertheless give the public advice on how they could stop it on their property?

Very useful advice is given by the police to the public on these matters. I have no detailed figures about vandalism on public buildings. It would take a great deal of staff time to extract them from the general figures we have of accidental damage and other things which lead to the need for repairs.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works what organisms have been isolated from the foods served at Lancaster House on the occasion of the reception for the Italian Prime Minister; what foods were found to be contaminated with these virulent salmonella group organisms; why they were contaminated; and what steps he is taking to ensure a proper standard of hygiene in the future.

I am informed by the Medical Officer of Health of the City of Westminster that salmonella typhimurium organisms were found in mayonnaise served at the reception. There is no conclusive evidence to show how the organisms got into the mayonnaise.

While it must be difficult to apportion blame, is it not very likely to be, as reported in some quarters, that some three-day-old mayonnaise was being re-served and taken in and out of the refrigerator, which, in hot weather, is an appalling breach of public health standards? Is it not a fact that the organism may have reached here is some imported frozen liquid egg which was probably diluted with ducks' eggs, which are full of this type of infection, because numbers of the guests seem to have been infected with live organisms?

Perhaps the hon. Gentleman would let me have any evidence he has to that effect. I am advised that hens' eggs rather than ducks' eggs are generally used in mayonnaise and there is no conclusive evidence that they or, indeed, any other element in making the mayonnaise were responsible. We have considered the investigations made of the standards of hygiene in the premises of the caterers concerned and the inspection has given them a completely clean bill of health.

Will the right hon. Gentleman say what arrangements he is making so that the people infected can be tested to see whether they are still carriers of the disease? This type of salmonella typhimurium organism is very dangerous and we may now be carriers.

I am advised that, normally, the effects last only five to seven days, so i think the hon. Gentleman's suggestion comes a little late.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that, some years ago, I had correspondence with his Department on this point? Is he further aware that to remove salmonella poisoning from an egg it has to be boiled, and hard-boiled for seven to eight minutes? How can one hard-boil an egg to make mayonnaise?

I was not aware of the correspondence to which the hon. Gentleman refers. But raw eggs are used by housewives in many kinds of cooking—the icing on cakes and so on. I am advised that occurrences of poisoning are very rare and are not necessarily connected with eggs. There is no conclusive evidence on this point.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works whether he will consider meeting the annual loss of £1,000 incurred through public opening of the Banqueting House, Whitehall, by letting for private functions of a non-political character, on four or more occasions each year at £250 a time.

I do not accept the hon. Member's implication that a "profit and loss "approach should be adopted to the use of the Banqueting House. But I am keeping the arrangements under review, and will consider all appropriate possibilities.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that, in answer to an earlier Question I put, he said that less than 100 people had visited this historic building in Whitehall on a peak day in summer? Will he consider letting it for private functions, say, four times a year for perhaps 1,000 people on each occasion? Would not this perhaps balance the books?

The net difference of £1,000 between costs and the money taken is very modest in relation to a building of this historical and architectural importance. The building is valued very greatly by those who visit it. I am considering whether greater use of the building for functions by charitable bodies might be made. I am not, however, inclined to favour its being done on a commercial basis.

Has the right hon. Gentleman changed the original policy, which was to allow certain functions of a non-governmental character to take place in this Banqueting House?

No, Sir. We are maintaining the original policy. On the rare occasions when private organisations use the building for the kind of purpose the Government consider is compatible with the nature of the building, they are asked to pay for the services of custodians, the cost of fuel and light but there is no profit to public funds from that.

Would the Minister look into the methods adopted by the French Government regarding similar buildings in Paris and see if we could not equally open these buildings to private and charitable organisations more than we do?

As I said a moment ago, I am considering whether there should be more extensive use. I will consider what is done in Paris as something which may have lessons for us.

My right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and I met a deputation from the brick industry on 12th July. We agreed that, pending the outcome of the current reference of brick prices to the National Board for Prices and Incomes, producers of both Fletton and non-Fletton bricks may make immediate interim price increases not exceeding 3 per cent. The producers will report such increases to me and have accepted that they should be withdrawn if they are not considered justified.

Is not this episode one more example of disastrous relations between the Ministry and the brick industry since the Government came to power? Is it not utterly farcical that in May a reference on the price of bricks should be made to the Prices and Incomes Board because it was thought that the proposed price increases would have a significant effect upon building costs, and yet the Government are now allowing a price increase before the Board has reported? Is it not an utter farce?

Not at all. If the hon. Member is to use language like that, he should give reasons for using it. There was evidence given to us of the need for a modest increase. Our accountants examined the cases of individual firms who applied and we thought that an increase of this magnitude would norm- ally be justified. We agreed to this after consultation with the National Board for Prices and Incomes. Even so, the proposal for the increase must be justified in each case and the firm concerned must prove to us that it has justification for it. There is nothing wrong with this. Meanwhile the Board needs to have time to look at the real problem of brick prices, which have never been thoroughly examined in this way before.

Answers should be reasonably brief.

Can the Minister say what information brick makers have to furnish to the Ministry and under what statutory authority this requirement comes?

All of this comes within the present law on prices and incomes which has been debated at length in the House. The firms concerned will be required to submit brief details to my Ministry justifying the price increases they propose.

Would my right hon. Friend bear in mind, when agreeing or not agreeing with the request for a price increase, that the brick industry at present is working at over-capacity and certainly when it last submitted these figures it probably did not take that into account and it is running at very high profits already?

If we are to agree to these increases the brick firms concerned will have to justify them in terms of the present situation.

Could the right hon. Gentleman say whether at the conference with the brick makers the National Coal Board was also represented, it having recently acquired a brickfield in my constituency?

There was no representative of the Coal Board there at the time, although the National Coal Board is a member of the National Federation of Clay Industries.

On a point of order. In view of the unsatisfactory nature of the answer, I beg to give notice that I shall raise this matter on the Adjournment at the earliest opportunity, even if I have to wait until the Autumn.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works whether he will consider the cleaning of the surroundings of Nos. 10, 11 and 12 Downing Street and the future introduction of suitably placed flowering plants in the area.

I am having the exteriors of Nos. 10, 11 and 12 Downing Street redecorated during the Summer Recess. As I informed the House on 10th July, the stonework of the old Treasury building nearby will also be cleaned, probably later in this financial year.

I am sure that the House will be glad that the right hon. Gentleman is making some progress, but would he bear in mind that many people at home and abroad are waiting in conditions of the utmost squalor for something quite indeterminate to happen in Downing Street? Could he give some attention to the buildings behind where people wait, the Foreign Office and Home Office buildings?

I refer the hon. Member to a Written Answer today about the Foreign Office building. We do not propose to clean that for the time being, because it is due to be taken down in a few years' time. I was not clear on the first part of the supplementary question whether the hon. Gentleman was suggesting that there was some dissatisfaction with what goes on in Downing Street. If so, I disagree.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works what expenditure he has incurred at the Polaris submarine base at Gareloch and the missile storage depot there up to 31st June; if he will give the main items of expenditure; and what is his estimate of the work there when it is completed.

The total estimate for this work is £23 million of which £15½ million had been spent by 30th June. The main items are the Faslane Base, the Armament Depot at Coulport and the housing estates at Rhu and Helensburgh.

Could the Minister tell us when this great drain on the building resources of western Scotland is likely to cease? is he aware that the total estimate given to me is £45 million, which is a very large sum for a white elephant?

I do not accept the proposition that this is a great drain on the building resources of western Scotland. The total labour employed on the site to 30th June was 1,738 men, which is not a very large number compared with the population of that area. The £45 million is the total cost, including that which falls on the Ministry of Defence. The £23 million is the cost of the building work carried out under the auspices of my Ministry.

asked the Minister of Social Security what is the total amount of Selective Employment Tax paid to date by Labour Force Limited, of 140 Portland Road, London, S.E.25, in respect of the manpower they supply for the construction industry.

It is not our practice to disclose details of payments by individual employers; but I can say that enquiries are being made into this firm's liability for national insurance contributions and Selective Employment Tax, and that proceedings have been instituted tinder Section 90 of the National Insurance Act, following their refusal to produce certain documents.

is my hon. Friend aware that, according to this advertisement which I have in my hand, 50,000 men are at the command of this firm upon which £3¼ million ought to have been paid in Selective Employment Tax? Apart from the avoidance of this, there is also the avoidance of industrial and training levies, which I view even more seriously. It seems peculiar that it should not even be paying Selective Employment Tax in respect of the labour force required to administer this project.

I would accept a lot of what my hon. Friend has said. That is one of the prime reasons why inquiries are being made and proceedings have now been instituted.

Could my hon. Friend give some idea of the extent of the evasion of payment of Selective Employment Tax and National Insurance payments, too, by people operating this insidious system of labour-only subcontracting in addition to the instance which my hon. Friend mentioned?

No, Sir. As my hon. Friend will know, a committee has already been set up by my right hon. Friends the Minister of Labour and the Minister of Public Building and Works. The terms of reference of this Committee are

"to inquire into the engagement and use of labour in building and civil engineering with particular reference to labour-only subcontracting and to make recommendations."

Has the Minister studied the evidence of the N.F.B.T.E. to the Phelps Brown Committee, to which he has just referred, which makes the fair point that there is a place in the industry for genuine sub-contracting for labour-only but which disapproves of gangs of self-employed men who are using this kind of thing to avoid tax?

It is not for me to comment upon that aspect. We are waiting for the Committee's recommendations.

asked the Minister of Social Security what percentage of retirement pension for a man who has been a contributor since the commencement of the National Insurance scheme has been contributed by him; and on what actuarial expectation of life this is calculated.

It depends on the individual circumstances and on the basis adopted for calculation, including whether account is taken of contributions before 1948, but would be up to 20 per cent. on the basis of the U.K. Life Tables 1963–65.

Can the hon. Gentleman say when the highest point will be reached in this figure?

No, Sir, not without notice.

asked the Minister of Social Security what reply she is now able to make, in respect of the constituent about whom she has been in correspondence with the hon. Member for Ilford, North, to the inquiries made about that constituent's entitlement to retirement pension and related matters.

I have informed the hon. Member that his constituent's pension is being put into payment on the due date at the appropriate rate. The letter I have sent him explains at length the difficulties involved in this particular case.

asked the Minister of Social Security whether, in her review of the social security system, she will consider revising the regulations regarding the payment of death grant so that payments are uniform in all cases.

I assume my hon. Friend has in mind the basis on which death grant is made available to people who were within ten years of pensionable age when the benefit was introduced for the first time in 1948. It would not be appropriate to revise these transitional arrangements now.

Will my hon. Friend consider consulting his right hon. Friend with a view to changing these regulations, as continuous increases in benefit in other respects have made nonsense of many of the actuarial considerations of 1947 and 1948?

It is perfectly true that two of the categories concerned, non- payment and reductions, are based upon the contributory nature of the fund, but they would still be based upon its contributory nature whatever happened. We have to be guided to some extent by the Advisory Committee. We submitted this issue to it and it said that at this stage it did not feel that there was any useful purpose in changing the regulations.

The hon. Gentleman says "at this stage", but is this matter to be looked at in accordance with his hon. Friend's request? Is the Parliamentary Secretary aware that there are some cases, notably where the mentally subnormal are concerned, where there has been no insurance entitlement and where hardship may be caused to the parent who may be a widow of small means?

That is a slightly different aspect. I can assure the hon. Gentleman that we are examining this aspect, although not necessarily specifically related to the death grant.

asked the Minister of Social Security what research she proposes to conduct to investigate the financial conditions experienced by young widows.

One of the proposals being considered as part of my Department's research planning is an investigation into the employment prospects of widows. It is too early to say when this inquiry could be put in hand.

I thank my right hon. Friend for that Answer. Will she bear in mind that getting information from her Department about the precise details of this problem is like finding out the date of the next General Election? Will she undertake some co-ordinated research into this problem, perhaps in consultation with the universities?

That is certainly true in other respects, but much of the detailed information for which my hon. Friend asks would not help with the problems with which some widows are faced. It is because of this that I have picked out this one aspect as one which I should like to examine.

asked the Minister of Social Security if she is satisfied with the arrangements made for providing publicity for the Report on the Circumstances of Families; and if she will make a statement.

Some newspapers and periodicals have, I am glad to say, given substantial space to the findings of this Report. But I regret that the Press did not have longer to study the complex material in it before publication.

Why did not the Press have adequate notice of this very important Report? Is my right hon. Friend aware that The Guardian alleged that the procedure in this case was typical?

One of the reasons was that we were anxious to get the Report out and felt that if we waited another day, which would have allowed the usual time and given up to 24 hours' warning, we might have had complaints that we were delaying the Report further.

asked the Minister of Social Security why the Report on Circumstances of Families which was promised for May or June was not published until July.

The report was published on 5th July, i.e., on the third working day after the end of June. In view of the many complications involved in such a report this publication date was not unreasonable.

Is my right hon. Friend aware that the delay in publication was deeply regretted by some of us? When was the information on the uptake of school meals made available to the Department of Education and Science?

Whatever information was needed for the decisions which had to be taken was in the hands of those Ministers who needed it.

asked the Minister of Social Security why under her regulations earnings related benefits are not payable to persons who continue to work after normal retiring age.

It was considered right to continue the long-established existing arrangements, which provided that unemployment and sickness benefit for a person over pension age should be at a rate equivalent to the flat-rate retirement pension payable on retirement at that age.

Is not my hon. Friend aware that a man over pensionable age pays an increased contribution? Would it not, therefore, be just for him to receive an increased reward for it?

No, Sir. My hon. Friend will probably be aware that a number of possibilities were considered in the formulation of the earnings related scheme and during the passage of the Bill. We have always made it clear that the present earnings related scheme is an interim scheme and we shall certainly consider the position of this group in the major review.

No, Sir. The earnings rule is essential to support the retirement condition and it would be impracticable and quite unfair to have different conditions for national insurance retirement pensions in different parts of the country and at different times.

Will not the hon. Gentleman help pensioners to help themselves? If he cannot do that, will he at least advise the Chancellor of the Exchequer to help pensioners by abolishing the Selective Employment Tax in such areas?

No, Sir. We do everything possible to assist pensioners to help themselves, whether in work or in other directions.

In view of the generally accepted need to encourage older people to go on working in their own interests and those of the economy, when will the Government consider the earnings rule again?

We have only just looked at the earnings rule and have made certain valuable modifications. It would be quite unacceptable in a national scheme to make payment of a contributory retirement pension dependent upon different conditions in different parts of the country.

asked the Minister of Social Security if she will now restore the position whereby women qualify for pension if widowed at the age of 45 or over.

Age 50 has always been the age test for widow's pension under the National Insurance Act for a childless widow. I would refer my hon. Friend to the Written Reply my right hon. Friend gave my hon. Friend the Member for Bolton, West (Mr. Oakes) on 26th June. —[Vol. 749, c. 3.]

Would not the moment when emergency help is about to be given to large families be a very fitting time for relieving the burden on women of middle age who are bereaved and who are denied the consolations of family life?

I have a good deal of sympathy with what my hon. Friend says, but, as my right hon. Friend and I have said on more than one occasion, widows' benefits are one of the issues which we are considering in the review.

asked the Minister of Health whether he has received the report of the Sainsbury Committee; and when he proposes to publish it.

No Sir, though I understand that the Committee hopes to complete it within a week or so. I shall consider the question of publication as soon as I have the Report.

Will the right hon. Gentleman undertake that when he has had an opportunity to consider the Report he will make a statement on his reactions to it to the House as opposed to some outside body like the Labour Party conference or anything of that sort—[Interruption.]—I think so—and thereafter could he invite his right hon. Friend the Leader of the House to give us time to debate it?

As the hon. Gentleman knows, the question of a debate will not be for me, but no doubt my right hon. Friend will have noted the hon. Gentle. man's suggestion. The Committee's recommendations will, in the nature of things, be touching on difficult and delicate subjects and the Government will need time to consider them before entering into consultations with the industry, and I think that it is highly probable that the Government's first statement will be made to the House.

Will my right hon. Friend bear in mind that it is hoped that the whole future of the drug industry will be altered as a result of this Report, and that it is therefore very important that hon. Members should have the chance to question him about it?

I note my hon. Friend's hopes.

asked the Minister of Health whether he will launch a major publicity campaign to inform the public of the physical, mental and social effects of taking different types of drugs.

My right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for the Home Department and for Education and Science and I are giving this matter urgent attention in consultation with the Sub-Committee of the Advisory Committee on Drug Dependence, which is considering the need for health education and publicity about drug taking.

Does not my right hon. Friend agree that there is a great need for more factual information about drugs at the earliest possible moment, not only to bring home to people who may be persuaded to take drugs what drugs are dangerous, but also to assist those whose job it is to administer the law to get the whole matter into better perspective?

I agree with everything my hon. Friend said. This is a very important matter and we could certainly do with more facts.

I strongly reinforce the plea for more information, for there is a dearth, almost a complete absence as far as I can discover, of any information available for parents or teachers or social workers, apart from the odd pamphlet produced by an enlightened local authority. Can the right hon. Gentleman therefore speed up production of suitable material?

There may be a demand by parents and other adults responsible for young people for factual information about different drugs and the symptoms which they cause and we are pressing ahead with the provision of such information. The Sub-Committee has held its first meeting and will be meeting again on the 27th of this month.

Would my right hon. Friend agree that it is of the very greatest importance that this information should be accurate, even if we have to wait a little longer to get it?

I entirely agree with my hon. Friend.

What attitude does the Minister of Health take to the advertisement appearing in The Times this morning?

I have seen the advertisement. It probably reinforces what has been said, not only from the Dispatch Box this afternoon but from both sides of the House, that we need more facts before we jump to conclusions.

asked the Minister of Health if he will now seek to ban cigarette coupons, limit cigarette advertising and increase considerably the amount of health education provided by his Department in order to ensure that the entire population knows of the risks of death and disease resulting from cigarette smoking.

I cannot at present add to my reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Swindon (Mr. Francis Noel-Baker) on 19th July.—[Vol. 750, c. 278.]

While welcoming the efforts which we all know my right hon. Friend is making in this direction, will he now consider introducing a financial levy on cigarette manufacturers equal to their expenditure on advertising which would be devoted entirely to anti-smoking education and research?

I note my hon. Friend's suggestion, but as the proposals are under consideration by the manufacturers it would not be appropriate for me to comment further at this stage.

Is not the right hon. Gentleman aware that if he is successful in his campaign it will be absolutely disastrous for the Chancellor of the Exchequer and, so long as this is the position, the Government's motives will always be suspect in this matter?

I do not think there is any need for suspicion of the Government's motives. Certainly mine are quite clear. They are to take all steps open to me to improve the public health.

asked the Minister of Health what is the present estimated shortage of maternity beds within the Croydon area; and what action he is proposing to take to remedy the situation.

There is a marginal shortage, but teaching hospitals and hospitals of other groups also provide a service for this area.

Does the Parliamentary Secretary realise that the shortage is very real and most distressing and disturbing, particularly to young wives who should have their first baby in hospital? It is extremely worrying to them to know that they cannot do so, and it makes an absolute nonsense of the National Health Service if these young wives are not able to have their first baby in hospital.

The hon. Gentleman's information is not, perhaps, quite right. The Cranbrook Report recommendation was that we should aim towards a 70 per cent. figure of births in hospitals. The position for the hon. Gentleman's area last year was 72·4 per cent.

Can the Parliamentary Secretary tell us for what period of time there has been a shortage of beds in the Croydon area? May I ask him to look into this position, because it affects all constituencies in the Croydon area?