asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if, with regard to the Farm Amalgamations and Boundary Adjustments Scheme, 1967, he will give an assurance that, in exercising his discretion under paragraph 4 thereof, he will in all possible cases give priority to the amalgamation of an uncommercial unit with a small rather than a big farm.

The situation which the hon. Member has in mind could arise only where both a large farmer and a small farmer are trying to buy the same uncommercial unit. If both transactions would meet the tests of the Scheme, it

asked the Minister of Labour what steps have been taken during the last three months to secure the reinstatement of the employees locked out from CBR Jersey Mills, Brighton.

Following further separate talks with the company and the union a joint meeting took place under my Ministry's chairmanship on 19th October. Although some progress was made, it was not possible to reach a settlement. My Ministry will continue to keep in close touch with the parties and will be ready to intervene again at any time if it seems that this will be of help in reaching a settlement.

asked the Minister of Labour if he will publish in the OFFICIAL REPORT a table showing the level of unemployment prevailing on each occasion when Bank Rate has been raised since the war.

Following is the information:

asked the Minister of Health how many persons are on the waiting list for geriatric beds in the Dearne Valley constituency.

Waiting lists are not kept on a constituency basis.

asked the Minister of Health if he will state the number of geriatric beds in the Sheffield Regional Hospital Board's area; how many are in the Rotherham and Mexborough Hospital Management Committee's area; and how many are on the waiting list at the latest available date.

On 30th June, 5,212; 216; 1,321 in the region including 33 in the Hospital Management Committee's area.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government why the publication of Professor Buchanan's report on the Ashford region has been delayed by his Department; and when he now expects to publish it.

I am considering the form of consultation with local authorities on the Report before publication, but I hope to publish it shortly.

asked the Minister of Overseas Development what action has been taken on the request of the Government of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands for a team of experts to conduct a socio-economic survey of the colony.

I am glad to say that the survey team has been appointed, and that arrangements are well advanced. The leader of the team is Sir George Mooring, British Resident in Zanzibar until 1964. The other four members have a wide range of experience in economic and social development. The survey team will be operating under broad terms of reference which invite it to examine the human and physical resources of the Islands and to make recommendations for development and for future policy. Two members of the team are already at work in the Colony, but the main part of the survey will take place during the four weeks beginning on the 5th November.

asked the Minister of Power (1) if he will give the amount of coal, in tons, consumed in power stations over each of the past six years, and the estimated tonnage for the years 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972 and 1973, respectively;(2) if he will give the amount of oil, in tons of coal-equivalent, consumed in power stations over each of the past six years, and the estimated amount for the years 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, and 1973, respectively.

The figures for coal and oil consumption at power stations in the U.K. for the past six years are:

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the estimated cost of piping and conversions involving use of North Sea gas in Scotland.

I have been asked to reply. The capital cost of conversion of consumers' appliances and associated work on the distribution system is currently estimated at about £30 million. The initial extension of the transmission system to Scotland is expected to cost about £16 million. This figure does not include the cost of subsequent reinforcement of the transmission main nor of the additional capacity that must be provided elsewhere in the transmission system to meet the demand in Scotland.

asked the Minister of Power (1) which areas in Wales he expects to be served by North Sea gas by 1970;(2) what percentage of the population of Wales will have North Sea gas made available to it by 1970.

The present programme of the Wales Gas Board for gas supply is based on the receipt of North Sea gas in North Wales by 1969 and in South Wales by 1970. The gas will first be used as a feedstock to make town gas and for direct supply to new industrial consumers located near the North Sea gas transmission lines. A phased programme of conversion of consumers' appliances is planned to begin in 1969 and it is hoped that by 1970 nearly 10 per cent. of existing gas consumers may be receiving direct supplies of North Sea gas.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement about Government assistance to the National Gallery of Scotland towards the recent purchase of a painting by Raeburn.

Yes. My right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer has agreed that Parliament should be invited to approve a special purchase grant of £10,000 towards the purchase of a portrait of Sir John Sinclair of Ulbster painted by Raeburn. A Supplementary Estimate will be laid before Parliament in due course; meanwhile the money will be advanced from the Civil Contingencies Fund.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what steps he is taking towards the establishment of an export marketing organisation to help promote exports by British firms which, because of their size or structure, encounter difficulties in ascertaining and exploiting the potential markets for their products abroad.

A company under the Chairmanship of Sir Charles Denman, to be called Overseas Marketing Corporation Ltd., is being formed with Government encouragement and support, and with the help of the British National Export Council.Its task will be to seek new opportunities for British exports, and to ensure an adequate marketing effort to fulfil them. The choice of method will depend on the circumstances, as ascertained by active exploration of potential markets overseas and of sources of supply in this country. Since a direct selling effort in selected foreign countries is an essential prerequisite to success, the Corporation intends to create its own organisation abroad, beginning in Europe. As further experience is gained, the organisation will extend its coverage in this manner to other marketing areas in the world.Within the broad aims laid down, the activities of the Corporation will be left to the commercial judgment of its Board of Directors on which the Government will not be represented. Its activities will be supplementary to, and not in competition with, existing facilities in the export field, such as the export houses, whose co-operation will be sought.The Corporation's equity capital, totalling £100,000, is being subscribed by 10 major companies, all concerned, to some extent, with various aspects of marketing overseas; and loan capital up to £400,000 is being made available by the Government which can be drawn in the first 5 years once the share capital is fully paid up. The Government is also entering into agreements with the shareholders providing a guarantee against capital loss for the first 5 years after the Corporation is formed, and provision is made in the loan agreement to waive at the end of this period any interest due to the Government which the Corporation may have been unable to pay because of insufficient profits. No provision is being made to relieve the Corporation of interest payments thereafter.The Corporation will begin to repay loan capital after five years. Twenty-five per cent, of profits earned in the year in question after deduction of interest, tax and dividends will be applied to this purpose. During the currency of the Government loan, the rate of dividends will be limited to a maximum of 10 per cent. per annum on a cumulative basis.The Government believe that the Corporation will fill a gap in our existing export armoury, and consider that it has a good chance of achieving a profit-making position before the end of the initial 5-year period. I am grateful to Sir Charles Denman for his initiative, and to the Directors-designate (Mr. J. F. Dick, Mr. J. F. E. Gilchrist, Sir Alexander Glen, Sir Frank Schon, Mr. George Bunzl and Mr. Michael Spieler) who are giving their services free, and who are determined to see his venture through to success.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will state the net outflow of private direct investment, excluding the reinvestment of unremitted profits to South Africa in each year between 1960 and 1966, inclusive and for the first nine months of 1967.

The following are the available figures, which exclude oil investment:

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will state the effect on the balance of payments of the movement it the terms of trade in the year 1966, compared with the year 1964, and for the first nine months of 1967, compared with the first nine months of 1964.

Prices of both imports and exports have risen although export prices have risen more than import prices. This has had an effect on the import capacity of some of our traditional markets in the primary producing countries and no precise estimate is possible of the net effect on the balance of payments.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what calculations he made about elasticities of supply and demand for British imports and exports, respectively, in deciding not to devalue the £ sterling this autumn.

The Government are continuously studying all the factors which have an influence on our overseas trade, including elasticities of demand and supply.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the estimate of the net cost of the Selective Employment Tax to each of the development areas for 1966–67; and what this represents for each employed worker for each area.

I regret that the available statistics do not enable me to make sufficiently reliable estimates.

asked the Minister of Labour how much will each of the development areas receive in a year from the regional employment premium; and how much this represents for each employed worker in each area.

I have been asked to reply.For 1968–69 I estimate: Scotland, £40 million; Northern, £28 million; North-Western, £18 million; Wales, £12 million; and South-Western, £1·6 million. I regret it is not possible to make a sufficiently reliable estimate of how much this will represent for each employed worker in each area.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will give consideration to the creation of a body to co-ordinate the functions of bodies established, and proposed to be established, to foster the development of agriculture, industry and tourism in Mid-Wales.

Co-ordination of the work of statutory and other bodies concerned with the problems of Mid-Wales can be effected, so far as it may be needed, through the Welsh Office.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will, in view of the 1967 Report of the Mid-Wales Industrial Development Association showing that the population of Mid-Wales between 1956 and 1966 fell by 6,040, proceed immediately with plans to develop each of the main towns of Mid-Wales.

As my hon. Friend knows, my right hon. Friend intends shortly to establish a Mid-Wales Development Corporation, whose initial task will be to double the size of Newtown. Further, the Government have received and are considering proposals for the expansion of Rhayader on an experimental basis. The lessons learned will be valuable in examining the practicability of other plans for the expansion of other towns in the area. Meanwhile, the Government have stepped up the provision of industrial inducements and advance factories in Mid-Wales so that the pace of industrial expansion in towns throughout the area can be accelerated.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will give a date for the construction of the proposed dual carriageway to Carmarthen from Brecon and from Carmarthen to St. Clears.

My broad programme for the future described in paragraph 53 of "Wales: The Way Ahead" includes the provision of substantial lengths of dual carriageway between Brecon and Carmarthen and of dual carriageway between Carmarthen and St. Clears.Work on Section C of the Carmarthen diversion is expected to start in about two years. The improvement of other lengths of these roads will be undertaken as soon afterwards as resources permit.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if, in view of the low density of population in many parts of Wales, he will, in his plan for the reorganisation of local government in Wales, make the delegation of certain powers from county to district authorities compulsory where the population of the proposed district authority exceeds 50,000.

No. The problem presented by delegation arrangements in the context of local government reorganisation in Wales is fully discussed in the White Paper (Cmnd. 3340).