asked the Minister of Public Building and Works what estimate he has made of the cost to the building and construction industry of devaluation; and if he will make a statement.

I estimate that the direct effect of devaluation on construction costs will be a little more than 1 per cent., due mainly to the increased cost of imported materials.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works if he will publish in the OFFICIAL REPORT a table showing the location, extent, and annual cost of all additional office space in the Greater London area taken into use by departments of the Civil Service since October, 1964.

The following table shows the additional office space (units of over 10,000 sq. ft.) occupied by Government Departments, other than the Post Office, in the Greater London area since October, 1964.

Central London	Approx. area
	(sq. ft)
Alexandra House, Kingsway	41,000
Millbank Tower (part)	24,000
13/14 Park Crescent, N.W.1	11,000
29 Bressenden Place, S.W.1	48,000
Surrey House, Lavington Street	14,500
Elizabeth House, York Road, S.E.1	140,000
Hannibal House, Elephant & Castle	72,500
Kingsgate House, Victoria Street, S.W.1	77,500
Riverwalk House, Millbank, S.W.1	60,000
Prospect House, New Oxford Street	61,000
Alexander Fleming House, Elephant & Castle (D. and E. Blocks)	59,000
Bryan House, Tottenham Court Road	15,500
Benbow House, Emerson Street, S.E.1	21,000
Old County Hall, Spring Gardens, S.W.1	29,000
25 Savile Row (part), W.1	12,000
Thames House South (part), S.W.1	23,000
36 Whitehall, S.W.1	19,000
Outside Central London
42/46 Weston Street, S.W.1	16,000
Tolworth Tower, Tolworth Broadway, Tolworth, Surrey	146,000
Station Square, St. Mary Cray	97,000
New Maiden House, New Maiden	44,000
Sunley House, Croydon	66,500
Jameson House, Notting Hill Gate	11,000
Sutherland House, Sutton	49,000
Chesterfield House, High Road, Wembley	15,000
Lyon House (North Wing), Harrow	57,000
Capitol House, Green Lanes, Enfield	30,000
56/58 Nelson Street, Stepney	11,000
13/15 Dingwall Road, Croydon	23,000
Central House, 8/14 Cambridge Road, Barking	15,000
760/762 Barking Road, Plaistow	11,000
Concord House, West Croydon	40,000
Sentinel House, 16/22 Sutton Court Road, Sutton	18,000
Radnor House, London Road, Norbury	11,000

	Additional useable office space Million sq. ft. (approx.)	Annual cost (including rent interest on capital, rates maintenance and services) £ million (approx.)
Central London	0·6	2·5
Outer London	0·7	1·3

asked the Minister of Technology what effect the increase in Bank Rate will have on the credit terms which shipbuilders can offer through the provisions of the Shipbuilding Industry Act.

The increase in the Bank Rate does not affect the cost of credits guaranteed by the Minister under Section 7 of the Act.

£'000
Calendar Years			Grants for Disaster Relief	Development Loans	Technical Assistance	Gross Total
1964	…	…	18	9,240	876	10,134
1965	…	…	22	9,051	890	9,963
1966	…	…	—	9,822	920	10,742
1967 (estimate)		…	—	11,000	900	11,900

The above figures do not include grants contributed to the Indus Basin Development Fund which, for the period 1964 to 1966 totalled £9,036,000 and are expected to total £11,676,000 by the end of 1967.I am not sure what type of contracts my hon. Friend has in mind. If, as may be the case, he is thinking of trade arrangements, these are of course a matter for my right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade.

asked the Minister of Power if he will give a general direction to the Steel Corporation to review the future programme of iron ore terminals in the United Kingdom, in view of the increase in the size of ore carriers; and if, in particular, he will direct the Corporation to investigate the feasibility of a major ore terminal in the Clyde.

No. In considering their long-term plans, the Corporation will naturally consider their requirements for iron ore terminals, including the possibility of one on the Clyde.

asked the Minister of Power what is the present theoretical percentage of reserve capacity in the electri-

asked the Minister of Overseas Development what aid has been given to Pakistan in 1964, 1965, 1966 and is due for 1967; and what Government contracts have been signed with Pakistan agencies.

British aid to Pakistan during the period 1964 to 1967 is set out in the table below:city supply industry over average cold spell demand forecasts.

About 17 per cent. gross.

asked the Minister of Power what modifications he intends to make in the terms of the White Paper on Fuel Policy, following the recently announced policy of devaluation.

The main effects of de-devaluation will be to reduce oil's competitive advantage over coal in the home market and to make British coal cheaper in export markets.The precise effect in terms of price changes cannot yet be assessed but is likely to be well within the range of relative price movements which was examined in the fuel policy review in reaching the conclusions in the White Paper about the likely trends of demand for the various fuels, which will not be more than marginally affected.

asked the Minister of Power what is the estimated annual cost to the National Steel Corporation arising from the recent devaluation and proposed accompanying tax changes; and how much of the additional cost is expected to be absorbed by improving productivity and efficiency.

The Corporation's preliminary estimate is that the annual cost will be not less than £25 million. This excludes the loss of export rebates which may amount to £5 million a year. The Corporation are undertaking a study in depth to see how far this increase in costs can be absorbed, bearing in mind the advantages they hope to gain from devaluation.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what was the percentage growth or fall of industrial production in Wales in the year 1966 calculated in comparison with 1965.

			Yorks. and Humberside		Northern		West Midlands
			Number of i.d.c.s approved	Area '000 sq. ft.	Number of i.d.c.s approved	Area '000 sq. ft.	Number of i.d.c.s approved	Area '000 sq. ft.
1965	…	…	305	6,158	235	6,226*	355	5,025
1966	…	…	304	7,640†	226	8,204*	375	6,441†
1967 (Jan./Sept.)		…	361	7,301*	181	4,912*	377	5,819*
* The figures of floor area include ancillary space.
† The figures of floor area include ancillary space from mid-August, 1966.

It is not the practice of the Board of Trade to publish statistics of the total number of applications received or refused or the total for regions which include congested areas as such figures would be misleading. Because of the tough i.d.c policy in the more congested areas, many firms do not apply formally or do not press their applications to the point of a refusal. In the period January, 1965, to September, 1967, one application was refused in the Northern Region and one in the Yorkshire and Humberside Region.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether, as an alternative to formal import controls, he will launch a campaign to buy British goods, and also circulate to British manufacturers a regular list of those foreign manufactured goods which could be made in Great Britain to save imports.

As the Prime Minister said in answer to a Question by the hon.

Separate figures of industrial production in Wales are not available.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will state the number of applications for industrial development certificates made in 1965, 1966 and 1967 for the Yorkshire and Humberside Region, the number refused, and the amount of industrial building approved in each of those years, together with the corresponding figures for the Northern and West Midland Regions.

The total area for which industrial development certificates were approved in the Yorkshire and Humberside, in the Northern and in the West Midlands Regions in the years 1965–67 was:Member for Chigwell (Mr. Biggs-Davison) on 25th October of last year, Her Majesty's Government strongly supports all efforts to persuade British buyers to meet more of their requirements from competitive home production. One of the chief effects of devaluation will be to make British goods more competitive with goods from overseas, and it is important that British firms, both as manufacturers and buyers, should take advantage of this opportunity. They will continue to be helped in doing this by the work of the Economic Development Committees.—[Vol. 734, c. 823.]

asked the President of the Board of Trade what length runways are required for the operational working of the Concord aircraft; how many United Kingdom aerodromes currently have runways of this length; what plans there are to provide further runway facilities: by what date these are expected to be completed; and at what total cost.

Runways in the region of 10,000 feet should be adequate for the operation of the Concord but the necessary length will vary depending on a number of circumstances including the aircraft load and distance to be flown. Heathrow, Stansted and Prestwick have runways adequate for the Concord's normal operations; no extensions at other United Kingdom aerodromes are planned specifically for Concord operations.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what was the rate of private and public investment in Wales in 1966 compared with 1965.

The following is the available information:

	Investment in Wales
		£ million, current prices
Manufacturing industry	1965	56
	1966	63
Gas, Electricity and Coal Boards*	1965–6	83
	1966–7	95
Public expenditure on construction other than in fuel and power industries	1965–6	75
* Deep coal mining operations only. Figures for other classes of expenditure are not available.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what effect the Government's recent economic decisions will have on the cost of building houses in Scotland.

It is too early to say exactly, but this is expected to be small.

asked the Minister of Transport how many British Railways' employees were engaged on track maintenance at the most recent date for which figures are available; and what was the comparable number in each of the previous six years.

The British Railways Board tell me about 16,900 staff were engaged on track maintenance on British Railways in September, 1967. Comparable figures for each of the six previous years are as follows:

1966	…	…	…	18,400
1965	…	…	…	21,300
1964	…	…	…	23,400
1963	…	…	…	26,700
1962	…	…	…	28,400
1961	…	…	…	30,000

The fall in numbers reflects the reduction in the total mileage of track from 48,889 in 1961 to 38,464 in 1966; the increasing use over the period of continuous welded rail requiring less maintenance; and the introduction in 1965, and subsequent development of, mechanised track maintenance.

asked the Minister of Transport what investigations she has made concerning the safety of the A33 road leading down Otterbourne Hill into Otterbourne, Hampshire; and what measures she proposes to improve road safety conditions there.

Our investigations are not yet complete but consideration is being given to such measures as reducing the present speed limit and revising the carriageway markings on Otterbourne Hill to discourage overtaking down it.Conditions through the village will be considerably improved by the opening of the Otterbourne and Chandler's Ford By-Pass in about three weeks' time.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government when he is proposing to publish the Buchanan Report on the Ashford expansion; and what advice he is giving to local authorities about it.

The consultants' report is being published today.I have decided that the evidence at present available to me does not show conclusively that it will be necessary or desirable to undertake development in the Ashford area on the scale and at the rate considered in the consultants' report. I am therefore asking the South East Economic Planning Council and the local and other authorities concerned to let me have their views first on this issue and suggesting to them that detailed comments on the area recommended by the consultants for designation as a New Town should be held over for the time being until a decision in principle whether to proceed with the project, and if so on what scale, has been taken.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government when the "Country Code" was first published; and what arrangements have been, and are being, made to publicise it.

The "Country Code" was first published in 1951. It has been reprinted seven times and sales to date exceed 120,000 copies.The National Parks Commission use all recognised methods of publicity: posters, exhibitions, radio, television, leaflets, articles, Press notices, car stickers and postal franking.The Commission attach particular importance to the widest possible distribution of the Code among school children and have received excellent co-operation from education authorities, the Association of Education Committees and the National Union of Teachers. A wall-sheet publicising the Code has been displayed in some 28,000 local authority schools alone.The Commission also receive much help from the London Transport Board, the British Railways Board, the Automobile Association and the Royal Automobile Club, all of whom include references to the Code in their publications.

asked the Minister of Health what progress is being made in bringing the provision of geriatric beds in Walsall up to the national average.

The Board are planning 68 new beds the building of which is due to start in 1968–69. They have also submitted proposals for the provision of further geriatric wards after 1970.

asked the Minister of Health if the Green Paper he proposes to publish will include possible changes in the status of the Supplementary Ophthalmic Services.

Proposals to place the Ophthalmic Services on a permanent basis are included in the Health Services and Public Health Bill published earlier this week.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will set out in statistical form the number of breathalyser tests made by counties; and the proportion of these which was found to be positive when a blood or urine test was made at a police station.

I will consider whether this is practicable.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement about the escape of prisoners from Her Majesty's Prison, Eastchurch, last week.

Five prisoners absconded from Eastchurch open prison during a period of free association between 4 o'clock and 7 o'clock on the evening of 18th November. The police were informed as soon as the escape was discovered and police and prison officers co-operated in pre-arranged emergency action. The prisoners were serving sentences of seven months or less, and none has a record of violence.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many persons are at present detained in institutions as being unfit to plead; and how long, respectively, they have been so detained.

The latest information available is as follows:

NUMBER OF PERSONS SUBJECT TO DETENTION IN HOSPITAL IN ENGLAND AND WALES IN CONSEQUENCE OF BEING FOUND INSANE ON ARRAIGNMENT UNDER SECTION 2 OF THE CRIMINAL LUNATICS ACT 1800, OR UNDER DISABILITY AS DEFINED IN SECTION 4 OF THE CRIMINAL PROCEDURE (INSANITY) Act 1964
			Number of persons
Number of years detained			Male	Female
48	…	…	1	—
47	…	…	1	1
45	…	…	1	—
44	…	…	1	—
42	…	…	1	1
40	…	…	1	—
39	…	…	2	2
38	…	…	2	1
37	…	…	1	—
36	…	…	1	—
35	…	…	—	1
34	…	…	1	—
33	…	…	3	—
32	…	…	1	1
31	…	…	1	2
30	…	…	1	4
29	…	…	1	—
28	…	…	2	—
27	…	…	2	1
26	…	…	2	2
25	…	…	5	4
24	…	…	4	2
23	…	…	3	—
22	…	…	11	2
21	…	…	10	1
20	…	…	9	2
19	…	…	7	3
18	…	…	13	1
17	…	…	13	3
16	…	…	10	2
15	…	…	17	1
14	…	…	10	4
13	…	…	20	1
12	…	…	16	1
11	…	…	15	3
10	…	…	9	7
9	…	…	18	1
8	…	…	23	6
7	…	…	20	6
6	…	…	16	4
5	…	…	22	6
4	…	…	19	1
3	…	…	18	6
2	…	…	21	2
1	…	…	21	1
Less than 1		…	23	1
Total	…	…	399	87

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list those international loans which have a gold guarantee clause; and what are the current sums outstanding.

The loan arising from the post-war financial arrangement with Portugal carries a gold guarantee: the amount outstanding is £28 million. Our obligations to the International Monetary Fund, of which details were given in Answer to the hon. Member for South Angus (Mr. Bruce-Gardyne) today, carry the usual Fund guarantee.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will itemise all international debts contracted by Her Majesty's Government since October, 1964, including deferred payments for arms and aircraft purchases due for settlement on or after 1st January, 1970, giving the amount in sterling in each case.

:

(a) I.M.F. drawings
	£ million
December, 1964	417	This has been repaid in full.
May, 1965	583
March, 1966	51
(b) Swiss loans
	£ million
December, 1964	33	This has been repaid in full.
May, 1965	17
October, 1967	43
(c) Bank for International Settlements
	£ million
November, 1967	104
(d) U.S. Military aircraft credits
The total value of the four credit agreements with the Export-Import Bank into which the United Kingdom has entered to date is £353 million. Not all of this credit has yet been drawn down. Substantial repayments will be made before 1st January, 1970.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will issue a table of figures showing the indebtedness of the United Kingdom in gold and convertible currencies other than sterling due to be repaid in the next five years, distinguishing between loans from central and foreign banks, the International Monetary Fund and other agencies.

The information relating to inter-governmental loans, drawings on the I.M.F., loans from the B.I.S. and certain Swiss Banks is given in the following table.

£ million
Repayments due in:				1968	1969	1970	1971	1972
Inter-Government Loans
U.S.A. Line of Credit	…	…	…	25·9	26·4	26·9	27·4	28·0
Canadian Line of Credit	…	…	…	7·6	7·7	7·9	8·0	8·2
Economic Co-operation Administration	…	…	…	4·6	4·9	5·3	5·6	6·0
Mutual Security Aid	…	…	…	·4	·5	·5	·6	·6
E.P.U.—Germany	…	…	…	9·2	9·2	9·2	7·0	—
Export-Import Bank credit (Military aircraft and missiles)*	…	…	…	45·9	45·9	45·9	45·9	45·9
Lend-lease†	…	…	…	4·1	4·2	4·3	4·4	4·5
Swiss Credit	…	…	…	42·9
I.M.F. drawing—May, 1965‡	…	…	…	583
Parallel Swiss loan‡	…	…	…	17
I.M.F. drawing—March, 1966§	…	…	…	51
B.I.S. loan in connection with I.M.F. repayment ║	…	…	…	104
* Assuming that the full amount is drawn on the current line of credit ($500m.). No allowance has been made for drawings on further lines of credit, relating to the period after 30th June, 1968.
† Subject to abatement for U.S. Education Commission (up to $750,000 p.a.) and foreign buildings operations (£50,000 to £100,000 p.a.).
‡ Repayable between May, 1968 and May, 1970.
§ To cover gold part of increased subscription, repayable between March, 1969 and March, 1971.
║ Repayable between mid-1968 and mid-1969.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what he expects to be the net foreign exchange cost, after allowing for offset payments, of the British Army of the Rhine during the current financial year, expressed in sterling.

In my Budget Statement I estimated that it would be possible to cover about £72 million of the total D.M. costs in the current year of £82 million. These estimates will obviously be changed as a result of devaluation, but there are several factors not all of which are adverse and it is not yet possible to give an accurate figure for the change.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will state the particular sectors of public expenditure which will be affected by the reduction in spending by £100 million; and how much each particular sector will be required to bear.

I am not yet able to add to my statements of 18th and 20th November.—[Vol. 754, c. 935–9.]

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will clarify the

Under Section 169 of the Income Tax Act, 1952 a person who pays yearly interest out of income charged to Income Tax has to pay standard rate tax on an equivalent amount of income; he is entitled to deduct standard rate tax when he pays the interest, and the recipient must allow the deduction. The question whether interest falls within Section 169 depends on the facts of the particular case; but, in general, interest is yearly interest if it is paid on a loan other than a short loan made for less than a year and not intended to be continued beyond a year.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether in view of devaluation, he will extend the foreign travel allowance to £60 sterling.

No.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer why the post-war credits of Mr. Donald Firth of 9 Kenley Street, London, W.11, reference P501, applied for in March, 1967, to the Clapham office, have not yet been paid.

There has been considerable difficulty in tracing the records in this case but a payable order has now been sent to Mr. Firth.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will issue guidance to the Scottish banks to treat farmers and crofters as borrowers having priority.

I would refer my hon. Friend to the Answer which I gave to a similar Question by the hon. Member for Norfolk, South (Mr. J. E. B. Hill) yesterday.—[Vol. 754, c. 417.]

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the total revenue received in respect of fuel tax, motor vehicle licence duties and motor vehicle purchase tax, respectively, for each of the 12-month periods ended 30th September, 1964, 1965, 1966 and 1967.

The following table contains the information requested:

(£ million)
Year ended 30th September	Road Fuel Tax (Estimate)	Motor Vehicle Licence Duties*	Motor Vehicle Purchase Tax
1964	520	186·6	141·4
1965	663	219·7	156·0
1966	717	263·3	154·7
1967	825	275·9	142·9
* The figures for motor vehicle licence duties nclude driving licence fees. They exclude Northern Ireland since motor vehicles licence duties are collected separately by the Northern Ireland Government.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will give an assurance that no increase will be made in the salaries of senior Government servants overseas to compensate for the effects of devaluation until measures have been taken to protect the lower wage earners in this country.

Allowances of Government servants overseas will in many cases require adjustment. I do not accept either that they should be required to suffer more severely, or to obtain special advantages, by comparison with their colleagues in this country.

asked the Minister of Labour what was the number of male and female employees, respectively, in employment in the Arbroath and Carnoustie Employment Exchange area in June, 1964; and at the latest available date.

Employment estimates are compiled annually for local areas but they are insufficiently precise to measure relatively small changes from one year to another. Bearing this qualification in mind, the numbers of employees in employment in the area covered by the Arbroath and Carnoustie Employment Exchanges at June, 1964, and June, 1966 (the latest date for which information is available) were estimated to be 10,100 (6,500 males and 3,600 females) and 9,800 (6,100 males and 3,700 females) respectively.

asked the Minister of Labour how many persons were employed by local government authorities at June, 1967.

The numbers employed by local authorities and in police forces in Great Britain at June each year are published annually in the Ministry of Labour Gazette. The figure for June, 1967 (which appeared in the October, 1967, issue) was 2,217,000.The numbers include not only those employees classified to Local Government Service (Minimum List Heading 906 of the Standard Industrial Classification) but also those classified to other industrial sectors, e.g. construction, transport services, education, etc.

asked the Minister of Labour if he will publish the figures sent in from the 26 areas with a population of over 200,000 for the purpose of compiling the index of retail prices from July, 1966, to the nearest appropriate date.

No. Although some 20,000 separate prices are collected each month for these areas as a whole, the index of retail prices is not designed to produce accurate figures for each of these 26 areas

asked the Minister of Labour what is the percentage increase in rates and earnings arising from the wage award made through the National Joint Council for the Motor Vehicle Retail and Repairing Trade; how many are affected; and if the range of increases is consistent with the criteria concerning productivity and lower-paid workers during the period of extreme moderation.

The recent agreement of the N.J.I.C. for the Motor Vehicle Retail and Repairing Trade covers about 300,000 employees. The percentage increases of the new minimum rates over those which took effect in January, 1966, are 14·8 per cent. for skilled men, 12·5 per cent for semi-skilled, 9·1 per cent. for other men and 7·4 per cent. for women. Earnings in the industry are expected to rise on average by about 5 per cent. The N.J.I.C. has emphasised that the agreement refers only to increases and rates and not to wages currently being paid in excess of the new minima. It has also given an undertaking that every effort will be made to raise productivity so that the cost of the agreement does not result in higher prices. The agreement is being considered by my Department

asked the Minister of Labour if he will list the instances where his Department has unsuccessfully sought to influence the implementation of an income settlement during the period of extreme moderation.

No. Success or failure in these cases is often a matter of degree.

asked the Minister of Labour to what extent the improvement in the employment position, which is forceast to take place at the end of the forthcoming winter, will take place in Scotland.

I am not prepared to give forecasts of the future level of employment.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many initial outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease since 1945 have been traced to virus contained in imported meat; what were the countries of origin; and what percentage these figures represent of total initial outbreaks.

Any evidence as to the origin of a primary outbreak must be circumstantial rather than in the nature of absolute proof. Subject to this qualification 36 (20 per cent.) of the 180 primary outbreaks since 1954 were attributed to swill and 54 (30 per cent.) to contact with imported meat and bones, otherwise than through swill. Some of the 43 outbreaks of obscure origin might also be associated with these causes. It is not possible to determine the countries of origin.I regret that the figures for the period 1945 to 1954 are not readily available. For 1938 to 1954 40 per cent. of primary outbreaks were attributed to swill and 9 per cent. to contact with imported meat and bones; in 35 per cent. of primary outbreaks the origin was obscure.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what steps are being taken to investigate the origin of the present epidemic of foot-and-mouth disease, and the reasons for the rapid spread.

The veterinary staff of the Ministry in the field make it one of their first tasks to trace the origin and the means of spread of outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease. It was, however, realised at an early stage in the present epidemic that there were some unusual features in this series of outbreaks, and scientists from the Ministry's Veterinary Laboratory were moved into the infected area some time ago. These have since been joined by further experts from the Pirbright Research Institute, the foremost institution in the world for research into foot-and-mouth disease. These scientists are giving special attention to investigating the method of spread of the disease and whether there are any features about this virus which are making it so difficult to bring under control.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what will be the additional cost to Great Britain of its purchase of military aircraft and spares, etc., from the United States of America as a result of the devaluation of the £ sterling.

Allowing for the F111K offset agreement, the additional cost in foreign exchange is likely to average about £7 million a year.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what effect the devaluation of the £ sterling will have on the Royal Navy.

As stated by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer on 20th November, there will be an increase in sterling terms in the cost of purchases overseas and the pay of our troops. The precise effects have not yet been calculated.