asked the Postmaster-General when the public telephones at Aldergrove Airport will be changed to subscriber trunk dialling instead of being connected to a small country exchange.

Arrangements are already in hand to provide S.T.D. facilities for the public telephones at Alder-grove Airport early next year.

asked the Postmaster-General how many people are on the waiting list for telephones in the Ballymoney area; and what is the delay in installation of a telephone from the time of first application.

Forty-three at 31st October, 1967, with an average waiting period of five months. The majority should be given service by the end of this month, and none should be waiting at the end of December.

asked the Postmaster-General by what authority managers of telephone services make a prospective client agree to the sharing of a telephone; and how long he anticipates it will be before it is possible to stop the sharing of lines.

Since 1948, under the general authority of the Telephone Regulations, all residential telephone applicants have been required to accept a liability to share. Our aim is to offer exclusive service as soon as local conditions permit, but we cannot forecast when the sharing condition will be removed entirely.

asked the Postmaster-General how many public callboxes in the Yarmouth constituency are on party lines.

None, but 5 are connected by switching the lines from nearby sub-post offices.

asked the Postmaster-General when all the telephone booths in the Cloisters of the House of Commons will be adjusted so that the dials are in a convenient position and at not too great a height; and when the cupboards underneath the tables will be removed.

Two have been modified. If these meet with the approval of the Services Committee the remainder will be altered similarly during the Christmas Recess.

asked the Postmaster-General if he will amend Post Office regulations so that a year's rental in advance for telephones is not charged to new subscribers which are charitable bodies.

No. I have much sympathy with charities and other deserving bodies, but I cannot make concessions to meet the needs of individual groups of subscribers.

asked the Postmaster-General if he is aware that a resident of Barking, of whose name he has been informed, has been obliged by local authority redevelopment to move house and therefore to have his telephone transferred, that this subscriber has paid his quarterly account for 14 years but has now been charged a year's rental of £14 in advance, plus a £10 connection charge; and if he will reconsider his decision not to reduce these charges.

My right hon. Friend has withdrawn the requirement of a year's rental in advance for removing subscribers. He is sorry that he cannot make this retrospective. Connection charges depend on the work which has to be done.

asked the Postmaster-General whether he will ask the National Board for Prices and Incomes to examine whether or not the increases in charges for heavy type entries in classified telephone directories are justified.

No.

asked the Postmaster-General what is the total annual expenditure on advertising Post Office telephone directories; and what has been the cost since 1st January, 1967 of printing and delivering brochures advertising the Yellow Page Southampton directory.

We plan to spend £250,000 during the two years ending March, 1968, most of it in this financial year.The figure for Southampton is about £8,500, charging delivery at postal rates.

asked the Postmaster-General what information he has about members of the National Front Movement who are employed as postmen and fail to deliver mail addressed to people with distinctively racial names; and if he will make investigations and institute a method of random checking in the South-West Essex and East London areas.

None. If the hon. Gentleman has any information and will make it available to me I will make investigations.

asked the Postmaster-General whether he is aware that forms are still being used in post offices stating that post-war credits can only be drawn when a woman reaches the age of 58 and a man the age of 63; and, in view of the fact that such information is misleading and deters many people from applying for the return of their loans for three years, if he will order the withdrawal of all such forms from circulation.

I am sorry that a few post offices have issued old post-war credit forms. These are now being withdrawn.

asked the Postmaster-General what action he will take to improve Post Office services in the Reddish area of Stockport, and in particular the setting up of sub-post offices in the Bull's Head and Marbury Estate districts.

The Reddish area is already adequately provided with post offices. The particular places mentioned by my hon. Friend are served by offices in neighbouring districts and my right hon. Friend is sorry but he would not be justified in opening additional offices.

asked the Postmaster-General if he will list the philatelic and financial successes of his recent policy of issuing a variety of new pictorial postage stamps as compared with his previous practice; and if he will state his relevant plans for the next 12 months.

The Philatelic Bureau in Edinburgh and the philatelic counter at the London Chief Office between them contributed over £1¼ million to Post Office revenue in the 12 months to October, 1967. Of this £150,000 came from overseas sales. For the second part of the question I would refer my hon. and learned Friend to the reply my right hon. Friend gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Bristol, North-West (Mr. Ellis) on 20th November.—[Vol. 754, c. 266.]

asked the Postmaster-General on what basis the allocation of counter clerks is made in minor post offices.

The aim is to provide enough staff at all post office counters to give a satisfactory service to the public. There are techniques for assessing staffing requirements at Crown Offices. If the hon. and gallant Gentleman has a particular case in mind I will glady look into it.

asked the Postmaster-General why he has discriminated against small firms by closing their overseas telegram accounts and denying them the service of Post Office messengers, unless they spend more than £150 per annum on overseas telegrams.

It is not economic to provide special telegraph accounts and collection facilities for relatively small users of the overseas telegraph service. Nevertheless, a firm, whose traffic does not justify keeping one of these accounts, may still send in its overseas telegrams by telephone or telex and have the charges included in its telephone or telex bill. Indeed, the majority of business telegrams are sent in by these means and there is no charge for the calls.

asked the Postmaster-General why he is reducing the payments to sub-postmasters of the commission due to them on the sale of insurance stamps, bearing in mind the extra responsibility and the constant rise in the expenses of maintaining their post offices.

My proposals were designed to restrain a rise in remuneration following increases in the face value of national insurance stamps; this rise would have been greater than the circumstances warranted. The issue was referred to the Civil Service Arbitration Tribunal, whose award is now being implemented.

asked the Postmaster-General if he will take steps to ensure that an adequate scale of salaries is paid to sub-postmasters bearing in mind the social benefits of rural post offices.

The remuneration of sub-postmasters is reviewed regularly to ensure its adequacy.

asked the Postmaster-General what percentage, in ratio to population, is employed as junior apprentices in his Department in Scotland, England and Wales.

I understand that my hon. Friend has in mind young people under 18 years of age. The percentages are 0·05, 0·06 and 0·05 respectively of the working population.

asked the Postmaster-General why parcels posted by firms in Worcestershire to go by surface mail to New York are taking up to seven weeks.

Parcels should normally reach New York in two to three weeks. A further period will then be taken up in customs clearance and delivery. Unfortunately, recent difficulties in our own ports have delayed the dispatch of surface mails to overseas countries generally. If the hon. Gentleman will let me have details of individual cases of delay I shall be glad to investiggate them.

asked the Postmaster-General what further steps he is taking to cater for the needs of Welsh-speaking customers.

asked the Postmaster-General, in view of the refusal of the magistrates at Bangor and Blaenau Ffestiniog to fine or demand costs from persons found guilty of using television and radio sets without a licence but who had offered to pay for the licences on condition that they were published in the Welsh language, whether he will make a statement of his policy for bilingual forms and licences in Wales.

Since the passing of the Welsh Language Act I have been considering to what extent it would be practicable to extend the use of the Welsh language on the principal public forms (including licences) handled by post offices in Wales. In doing so, I have to take into account, among other things:

asked the Postmaster-General why the British Broadcasting Corporation is now unable before 1968 to meet the forecast first made in respect of 1966, to operate a new transmitter and aerial mast at Little Connard, near Sudbury, for B.B.C.2 programmes and colour television; and whether a firm date can yet be given.

The construction time-table for the B.B.C.'s stations is the Corporation's responsibility. They tell me that there has been some delay in the manufacture of the aerial which is now expected to be delivered in the new year. Given fair weather for fitting and testing the aerial, the station should open early next year.

asked the Postmaster-General whether he will take steps to restrict the British Broadcasting Corporation and Independent Television Authority from entering into exclusive sports contracts in order to ensure that equal facilities are made available to both bodies.

No. By long standing agreement the broadcasting organisations do not seek exclusive rights in certain major sporting events of national interest. In general, however, they are meant to compete with one another.

asked the Postmaster-General if he is aware of the dissatisfaction in the North East at the poor reception of B.B.C.2; and what he proposes to do to improve it.

The B.B.C. tells me that, within the coverage area of their transmitter at Pontop Pike, reception of B.B.C.2, with its colour content, should be generally satisfactory. The coverage area will extend with the opening of a further main station at Bilsdale towards the end of next year; and of relay stations at Hexham next year and Fenham later.

asked the Postmaster-General what official communication he has received from the British Broadcasting Corporation regarding restrictions on broadcasts from local radio stations by Members of Parliament or local councillors on political matters.

asked the Postmaster-General what undertaking he has received from the British Broadcasting Corporation regarding the rules for political discussion which will be applied in local radio stations and in particular on Merseyside Radio.

None. The Corporation are of course already under a duty to treat controversial subjects with due impartiality. This duty applies to broadcasts from local stations just as it applies to the B.B.C.'s national and regional broadcasts.

asked the Postmaster-General (1) when he estimates that television transmissions will be made available by direct-broadcast synchronism satellites placed in orbit by private or public enterprise in the United Kingdom;(2) what plans he has to impose restrictions on the receipt of television programmes made available by direct-broadcast satellites; what criteria he will employ in deciding the character of such restrictions; and what steps Her Majesty's Government are taking to ensure that suitable orbital trajectories are reserved for British direct-broadcast satellites.

I am advised that, for the foreseeable future, there is no practical likelihood in the United Kingdom of direct reception in the home of television programmes broadcast or rebroadcast by satellites. The question of imposing restrictions on such reception does not therefore arise.It is also premature to decide in detail the orbital position of broadcasting satellites. This will be a matter for international discussion in which the United Kingdom will play its full part.

asked the Postmaster-General what, for any recent convenient representative period, has been the average weekly payment per subscriber for each of the two areas, namely Southwark and Westminster on the one hand, and Sheffield on the other, in respect of the experimental pay television scheme operating in those areas.

As I told the hon. Member in my reply to him of 9th November, I propose to review the experiment in the near future. The information the hon. Member seeks will be considered along with other relevant information, in the whole context of the review.—[Vol. 753, c. 145.]

asked the Postmaster-General whether he referred the 30 per cent. price increase of the Radio Times to the National Board for Prices and Incomes.

Periodicals are not included in the Government's early warning arrangements and I was not notified or consulted about the increase. I do not think a reference to the Board is called for.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales, whether he will take steps to establish an outstation rent office in Rhondda on one or two days a week, since the work load of the Rent Officer for sub-area number two of the county of Glamorgan consists of more than 50 per cent. of Rhondda cases.

This is something to be considered initially by the Clerk of Glamorgan County Council.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales what progress there has been in the discussions about the Expansion Plan for Rhayader; and whether he will make a statement.

It was agreed in July to arrange further technical investigations. Most of the results have recently been received and they are now being studied.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales what consultations he intends to have with the Rural District Councils Association in Wales, on the recommendations of the White Paper on Welsh Local Government.

The Rural District Councils Association which represents all rural district councils in England and Wales, will be meeting me on 28th November.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales whether he will state the number of applications which have been received by the local planning authority for permission to develop within the area of the Rhayader Expansion Plan, the number allowed, the number held up by the Roads division of his department, the number of appeals pending; and how many decisions have been made the last two years.

In the last two years 53 applications were received by Radnorshire County Council, as local planning authority, for planning permission for development within the area of the Rhayader Expansion Plan. Forty of these applications were allowed. No application is at present under consideration by Roads Division, Welsh Office. Two appeals against decisions of the local planning authority have been made during the last two years. One was withdrawn and the other is under consideration.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales what factories have been built, are being built, or are to be built by the Development Commission in Wales since October, 1964.

Six new factories and extensions to three existing factories have been completed since October, 1964; two more extensions are under construction and work on four new factories is either in hand or will commence shortly.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales what is the total number of Development Commission factories tenanted since October, 1964 in Wales; what employment has resulted; and what Development Commission factories not yet completed have been let.

Six new factories financed by the Development Commission have been completed and occupied providing employment for over 300 people.In addition extensions, which should provide about 150 additional jobs over the next five years, have been built at three other factories.Two uncompleted factories have been let, and two further factories have been allocated but are not yet built or let.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what requests he has received for additional financial assistance for the Conservation Corps; and if he will make a statement.

None, Sir. I have invited the Corps, through the Council for Nature, to submit its application for grant for 1968–69. In the current financial year the Department is making a Headquarters Grant of £3,450 to the Corps and I understand that the Nature Conservancy have made a payment for work done of £1,500.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will state the present progress achieved towards the reorganisation of secondary education along comprehensive lines; and how many local education authorities have changed over or have schemes approved for future change.

Out of a total of 162 local education authorities, 101 now have schemes covering the whole or part of their area either implemented or approved.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what action he has taken, when negotiating the establishment of further universities, to ensure that an appropriate site is reserved in the Cheltenham area.

None.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what discussions he has had with the Greater London Council over the financial provisions for the building of the new National Theatre; and whether agreement has now been reached.

The position of the Government remains unchanged. They are prepared to share the cost of the National Theatre equally with the Greater London Council, subject to a maximum contribution, related to costs at tender stage, of £3¾ million. The South Bank Theatre Board received the detailed plans and estimates from the architects earlier this month and these are now being studied by my Department and the Council.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what progress is being made in developing the work of the National Film Institute.

The British Film Institute has now established 16 regional film theatres and there are plans for 19 more. The Institute has given grants for the production of 17 experimental films, and new storage buildings for the National Film Archive will be completed next year.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what progress is being made in translating the University of the Air proposal into reality.

As I told my hon. Friend the Member for Hampstead (Mr. Whitaker) on 17th November, a planning committee is now at work and preparations are going ahead on the basis that the University will be launched by the autumn of 1970.—[Vol. 754, c. 202.]

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether he proposes the Planning Committee of the Open University will conduct a pilot scheme; and if he will take into consideration the equipment and facilities already available at the Universities of Strathclyde and Glasgow for such a purpose.

I know that the Universities of Strathclyde and Glasgow, like a number of other universities, are doing valuable work in closed-circuit television. But it must be left to the Planning Committee, and, later on, the Open University authority as independent bodies to decide their own policy.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what action he is taking to prevent the export of the Russell Papers.

No application has been received for an export licence in respect of the Russell Papers. If one were received it would be treated in accordance with the normal rules governing the export of manuscripts, documents and archives.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the guidance given by his Department to local education authorities on corporal punishment regulations, with particular reference to special schools for physically handicapped and maladjusted children.

My right hon. Friend hopes to be able to offer some guidance very shortly.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will give an estimate of the average cost of providing a school place in the Greater London area, compared with the average cost of the rest of Great Britain.

The Answer shows that, while the basic net cost of the school building is similar, the average gross cost, including external works, is some 8 per cent. higher in Greater London than in the rest of England and Wales. I cannot answer for Scotland.The figures are as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what additional money he intends to make available for urgent sanitary and other improvements in Somerset primary schools.

My right hon. Friend has just notified the Somerset Authority of their minor works allocation for 1968–69, which is higher than the corresponding figure for the current year. It is for the Authority to decide the purposes for which the resources are used.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) what is the number of schools in Wales built prior to 1875 and 1900, respectively;(2) what percentage of Welsh schools were built prior to 1875 and 1900, respectively;

The only available information is in the School Building Survey, 1962, relating to the periods prior to 1875 and 1903. The details, which are now somewhat out of date, in respect of maintained schools, are as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will state, from information available to him from international sources, up to what age, and for how many years, formal education is compulsory in the United States of America, France, Western Germany, Italy, Canada, Australia and Japan; and in which countries in the world formal education is compulsory for longer than it is at present in the United Kingdom.

The following table contains the information requested in the first part of the question.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will now refer the salaries of teachers to the National Board for Prices and Incomes.

This is one of the possibilities that I am considering.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action is being taken to extend to other prisons the industrial training given in Gloucester Prison with equipment donated by a local industrial firm.

Similar arrangements with private firms already apply to about 1,700 inmates of prisons, borstals and detention centres in England and Wales and I hope to extend them. I am grateful to all the firms who are helping to provide useful work and training for inmates.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he is aware that the establishment of the probation service in Hertfordshire is appreciably below the authorised number; and what action he proposes to improve the situation by way of making the remuneration and career prospects of the service more attractive.

The establishment of basic grade officers in the Hertfordshire probation service is 41; the present strength is 37. Salary negotiations for probation officers are due to begin shortly. During 1967 there has been a planned increase in the number of supervisory posts in the probation service in England and Wales, with a resultant improvement in career prospects.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what has been the cost to public funds of returning immigrants to their countries of origin because they evaded immigration control.

For Commonwealth citizens, £1,072 so far in 1967.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much time the last Chairman of the Horserace Betting Levy Board devoted to these duties; how much time the next one will devote to them; and when he intends to announce the salary of the new one.

The last Chairman of the Board spent up to four days a week on these duties. The new Chairman intends to spend rather more. I have approved a recommendation of the Board that he should be paid a salary of £4,800 a year.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will take action to stamp out the protection racketeers whose activities have led to the blowing up of the restaurant at the Economist and other catering establishments in the St. James area.

The Commissioner of Police informs me that his investigations disclose nothing to suggest any connection between the explosion and fire at the Economist Building and a protection racket; and that the other two fires in the St. James's area this year appear to have been started accidentally.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will call for reports from chief constables stating how many drivers in the North-Western area, the Metropolitan area and England and Wales as a whole, have been made to take the breathalyser test since the introduction of the Road Safety Act; in how many cases proceedings have been taken; and how many tests were found to be within the safety limit; and if he will make a statement.

The following figures relate to roadside breath tests required by the police during the period 9th to 31st October inclusive. Statistics of prosecutions are not available.

asked the Minister of Overseas Development what studies he has made of the extent to which total contributions to international multilateral aid agencies have increased British exports.

This matter is under continuing study by my Department. Material is not available or published for all the major multilateral aid agencies, but our calculations indicate that in the years 1965 and 1966 British exports financed by I.B.R.D. and I.D.A. were greater in value than the United Kingdom Government contributions in those years to all the major multilateral aid agencies combined. The called-up part of our subscriptions to the I.B.R.D. and I.F.C. was, however, fully paid up before those years.

asked the Secretary of State for Economic Affairs what is the total financial support, in grants, loans, advance factories and training provisions for the development areas and the Northern Region, respectively, for the period 1965 to 1967; what is the current annual rate; and how this compares with the average annual provision for the 10 years preceding 1964.

The total amounts of assistance made available under the Local Employment Acts in the period from 1st April, 1965, to 1st April, 1967, in the development areas (or districts) and in the Northern Region, were £97·7 million and £29·5 million respectively. Comparable average annual amounts in the period from 1st April, 1960 to 31st March, 1964 were £30·2 million and £5·5 million respectively. These figures do not include investment grants and the Regional Employment Premium, nor the earlier arrangements for free depreciation.The Ministry of Labour's assistance to firms in development areas for industrial training in the period from 1st April, 1965 to 1st April, 1967 totalled £860,000 in all of which £260,000 was in the Northern Region. These figures do not fully reflect the improvement in the grant system introduced on 1st April, 1966 and 16th October, 1967. Prior to 1st September, 1964 grants for training were paid under the Local Employment Acts. The cost cannot be separately distinguished.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has for setting up efficient mechanism to control unjustified price increases not associated with the devaluation of the £ sterling.

I have been asked to reply.The existing machinery of the voluntary early warning arrangements and the provision for reference to the National Board for Prices and Incomes for investigation will be fully utilised. These arrangements where necessary can be supported by the reserve powers of the Prices and Incomes Acts, 1966 and 1967.

asked the Secretary of State for Economic Affairs what progress has been made with the investigation by the Industrial Reorganisation Corporation into the future structure of the telecommunications industry.

The Industrial Reorganisation Corporation have presented their report on the telecommunications industry which is being studied by the Government.

asked the Secretary of State for Commonwealth Affairs why Wales was excluded from the British Pavilion at Expo 67 in Canada.

I would refer the hon. Member to the replies given to the hon. Member for Carmarthen (Mr. Gwynfor Evans) on 26th January and 14th February, 1967. I have nothing to add to those replies.—[Vol. 739, c. 356–7; Vol. 741, c. 329–30.]

asked the Secretary of State for Commonwealth Affairs whom Her Majesty's Government recognises as the present leaders of majority African opinion in Rhodesia for the purposes of finding an acceptable settlement.

No precise answer can be given to this Question, in particular because of the division of African nationalist opinion into two main parties and because both have been banned and their leaders detained. The position remains that no settlement would be acceptable to Her Majesty's Government that was not acceptable to the people of Rhodesia as a whole.

asked the Secretary of State for Commonwealth Affairs if he will state his policy in regard to the future of British Honduras.

I have nothing to add to the reply given on 24th October to the hon. Member for Watford (Mr. Raphael Tuck).—[Vol. 751, c. 407–8.]

asked the Secretary of State for Commonwealth Affairs when the report of the Commission of Inquiry into the operation of casinos in the Bahamas will be published.

The report was published in Nassau on 20th November. Copies of the report are now available in the Vote Office.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government if he will authorise a feasibility study of a Wash reclamation scheme.

I am considering a suggestion from the Water Resources Board for a desk study of a barrage for fresh water storage in the Wash, and a barrage might lead to some reclamation of land.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government what effect the Government's new economic measures will have on their mortgage option scheme.

Present indications are that the option mortgage scheme is unlikely to be affected in any significant way.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government what representations he has received from the Kensington and Chelsea Borough Council asking for a grant in respect of the former Rachman and Bowen Davies properties, 1 to 9 Colville Gardens; and what reply he has sent.

My right hon. Friend has received no representations from the council about these properties, but he is looking into the letter which my hon. Friend has sent him about them.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government what advice is given by his Department to tenants and tenants' organisations as to whether rented furnished accommodation is furnished in accordance with regulations under the Rent Act.

The Furnished Houses (Rent Control) Act, 1946, applies where the amount of the rent fairly attributable to the use of the furniture, having regard to its value to the tenant, forms a substantial proportion of the whole rent; otherwise the rent regulation provisions in the Rent Act, 1965, apply in the normal way. Whether the amount is substantial in a particular case depends on the circumstances and the rent tribunal or the rent officer can advise further having regard to the facts.My right hon. Friend has no power to advise in particular cases.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government in how many cases recently the courts have decided that accommodation alleged to be, and rented as, furnished lettings were in fact unfurnished.

I regret that this information is not available, but I am aware of two recent cases where it has been reported that tenancies regarded by the landlords as furnished were held by the county courts to be unfurnished.

asked the President of the Board of Trade why there is to be no limit on the number of night jet flights at Gatwick Airport.

I do not consider that the volume of traffic at Gatwick next summer will be sufficient to necessitate a limit on the number of night movements. I will keep under review the need for a limit in 1969.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what effect devaluation will have upon the purchase price of Boeing 707 and 747 aircraft ordered by British Overseas Airways Corporation.

The dollar price of Boeing aircraft already ordered by B.O.A.C. will not be changed. In sterling terms the two Boeing 707 freighters will together cost about £1 million more and the six Boeing 747 aircraft, with initial spares, about £9 million more. Orders have not yet been Placed for the five additional Boeing 747s recently approved and no final prices have been negotiated.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what estimate he has made of the effect devaluation will have upon the earnings of British nationalised and independent airline operators in the period up to November, 1968.

An Emergency Conference of the International Air Transport Association is currently considering revision of international air fares and freight rates to take account of devaluation. The decisions will be subject to the approval of the Governments concerned. Meanwhile no reliable estimate of the effect of devaluation on the earnings of British airlines can be made.

asked the President of the Board of Trade how many advance factories have been built in the Central West Fife area; and how many have been tenanted by industrial firms.

Four, of which three are occupied. Four others are under construction.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he is aware that a Board of Trade advance factory is still untenanted at Ashington, Northumberland; and when he expects to secure an effective tenant.

Yes. I hope shortly to complete our discussions with the applicant mentioned in my reply of 25th October.—[Vol. 751, c. 498.]

asked the President of the Board of Trade why he cannot reveal the number of men employed in those advance factories in Wales which have been built and tenanted since 1964.

As I have already told the hon. Member in my letter of 14th November, we treat as confidential information which could reveal the business of individual undertakings.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether import duties will be payable on the increased cost, resulting from devaluation, of goods and machinery previously ordered from abroad, bearing in mind that this would have the effect of compounding the extra burden.

To the extent that the import prices of such goods and machinery increase as a result of devaluation, ad valorem duties will be chargeable on the increased prices.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will take steps to give relief to those firms which, acting on Her Majesty's Government's assurances that there would be no devaluation, entered into long-term contracts to supply at fixed prices goods which contain a large element of imported materials.

No.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what further consideration he has given to the eligibility of the Friden Collectadata system as computer equipment within the terms of the Industrial Development Act, 1966; and whether such peripheral and ancillary equipment supplied as part of a computer system and essential for its operation is now eligible for a grant.

We are still considering this, and I will write to my hon. Friend as soon as we have reached a decision.

asked the President of the Board of Trade how many jobs he estimates will be provided at the new major industrial estate at Bridgend; and over what period of time.

When fully developed, the new estate could provide 7,000–10,000 jobs, dependent on the types of industries attracted to it. I am not able, at this stage, to estimate the length of time which full development will need.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what is the location of the new industrial estate for Ayr which he announced on 15th November, 1967; what is the acreage of the site; and when work is to commence on its construction.

We hope to select a site of about 50 acres very shortly, and to begin its development as soon as we have been able to acquire the land.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will give in

Foreign loans secured by British Governments since the end of the war are listed below. They do not include drawings on the International Monetary Fund. As transactions with this Fund since the war have been numerous I would refer the hon. Member to International Financial Statistics, a copy of which publication is available in the Library of the House and which contains a full list.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the estimated cost to the country of exchange transactions between the Government's decision to devalue sterling on Thursday, 16th November and the official announcement on Saturday, 18th November.

It has never been the practice to publish details of transactions by the Exchange Equalisation Account over a short period.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether, in his post-devaluation direction of economic policy, agricultural production will, like exports, be treated as a priority for bank credit.

Within the overall ceiling on advances (which does not apply to advances for exports and shipbuilding finance), one of the categories of lending to which the banks are asked to give priority is lending for agriculture, in so far as it promotes import saving.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will calculate the total revenue from Scotland in 1966–67 from those taxes and duties for which separate calculations have not already been made.

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to the Question of the hon. Member for Berwick and East Lothian (Mr. Mackintosh) on 20th November, 1967.—[Vol. 754, c. 283.]

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the estimated annual cost of shielding the poorer-paid workers from the increased cost of living which he anticipates will result from his devaluation policy; how many people will benefit from it; below what wage level it will operate; and what new taxes he proposes to impose to find the money.

It is too early to add to my right hon. Friend's statement to the House of 20th November.—[Vol. 754, c. 935–9.]

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if, in view of the cost involved, he will now introduce legislation to repeal the proposed changeover to the decimal system.

No. I am satisfied that decimalising the currency will be an important aid to productivity and will effect savings in many fields.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his estimate of the percentage increase in the cost of living resulting from devaluation and the accompanying measures.

It is estimated that the cost of living will eventually rise by about 3 per cent. more than it would otherwise have risen.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what will be the effect on the Scottish road programme of the measures announced in connection with devaluation.

I have nothing to add to the statement my right hon. Friend made to the House on 20th November.—[Vol. 754, c. 935–9.]

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what amount of Great Britain's gold and dollar reserves were expended in supporting the £ sterling between 3.30 p.m. on Thursday, 16th November, and the time the devaluation of the £ sterling was formally announced two days later.

I would refer the hon. Gentleman to my right hon. Friend the Chief Secretary's Answer to a Question from the hon. Member for Norfolk, South (Mr. J. E. B. Hill) today.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer by what authority Her Majesty's Customs impounded a package dispatched from Rhodesia on 31st October, 1967, and addressed to Mr. K. Harvey Proctor of 33 North Street, York; and why the addressee, an undergraduate of York University, has not been duly informed of this action.

Formal notice is sent to the addressee of any package which is detained or seized by the Customs. I cannot trace that the Customs have stopped any package so addressed. They are holding, however, a package addressed to the Secretary, Rhodesia House.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the rôle of National Savings in the new economic situation and what steps he is taking to strengthen the appeal of National Savings.

This has been a good year so far for National Savings, but the new situation makes it even more necessary that savings of all kinds should continue to grow to help finance investment and moderate consumption. I am sure that the whole National Savings Movement will respond with renewed vigour and enterprise to the challenge, and I shall certainly keep under review the provision of the right supports for their efforts.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what are the latest available figures for the total annual value of Scotch whisky consumed in Scotland and in the United Kingdom as a whole.

The estimate of consumers' expediture on alcoholic drink in 1966 published in the National Income Blue Book includes £225 million for expenditure on home produced whisky. This figure relates to the United Kingdom as a whole. A separate estimate for Scotland is not available.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will consider a scheme of special Income Tax rebate for new industries established in areas experiencing acute economic difficulties.

No. The Government have already put into force a variety of measures which they believe better adapted than any tax rebate to stimulate new industries in the development areas.

asked the Minister of Labour how many new jobs have been created in the Northern Region for men and women, arising from Government financial support, for the period 1965 to the latest available date for which information is available.

I regret that the information is not available.

asked the Minister of Labour when he plans to introduce legislation to apply factory and safety regulations to exhibition building workers.

As I announced to the House on 30th June, I am at present carrying out a comprehensive review of factory legislation. I propose that any new legislation should cover workers employed on the erection and dismantling of exhibition stands. I cannot yet say when it will be introduced.—[Vol. 749, c. 149.]

asked the Minister of Social Security what information she has regarding the relative movements in the cost of living in Scotland as compared with the rest of the United Kingdom; and if she will take steps to formulate a separate cost of living index for Scotland, so as to ensure that social security benefits in Scotland keep pace with changes in that index.

I have been asked to reply as the retail price index is the responsibility of the Ministry of Labour.No estimate has been made of the relative movements in the cost of living in Scotland, as compared with the rest of the United Kingdom. My right hon. Friend has, however, asked the Cost of Living Advisory Committee to review the desirability of the calculation and publication of separate indices for regions and for special social and income groups.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will give details of new reductions in expenditure he is proposing as a result of the financial crisis.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects to announce the details of the reduction of £100 million proposed in defence expenditure.

I have at present nothing to add to the statement made yesterday by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister. Details will be reflected in the 1968–69 Estimates.—[Vol. 754, c. 1340–1.]

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what total net defence expenditure in 1968–69 was intended before the recent decision to reduce it by £100 million.

The Government's intentions were set out in paragraph 2 of Chapter V of the Supplementary Statement on Defence Policy, 1967 (Cmnd. 3357).

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what proposals he has for reducing expenditure on the Polaris submarine programme and the base at Faslane, in view of the need for the reduction of public expenditure.

None.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence whether a decision has yet been made on the fourth reduction in the Household Cavalry and Royal Armoured Corps announced in Annex II of the Supplementary Statement on Defence, Command Paper No. 3357.

Yes. A decision has now been reached. The Royal Horse Guards (The Blues) and The Royal Dragoons (1st Dragoons) will amalgamate to form a new regiment. The new regiment will form part of The Household Cavalry.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what percentage of electrical consumer goods, food, clothing, and gramophone records sold by the Navy, Army and Air Force Institute, in Germany in the first six months of 1967 were manufactured in the United Kingdom.

The information on sales is not available; but in terms of purchases by N.A.A.F.I. for resale in Germany, the percentages are about 62 per cent., 56 per cent., 96 per cent. and 10 per cent.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what effect devaluation will have upon the purchase price of the F111K aircraft.

In terms of sterling the price of the F111K will rise by about one sixth. Since the F111K offset agreement is in dollars, it will, however, cover the foreign exchange cost of this increase.