asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many university science and technology places remained unfilled at the beginning of this academic year.

This information will, I understand, be included in the Fifth Report of the University Central Council on Admissions which is due to appear within the next few weeks.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if the revised version of his pamphlet giving guidance to schools on health problems, including drug addiction, is now available to head teachers.

I have received and approved the text of the pamphlet and arrangements are being made for publication in July.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science when he expects to announce a decision on the proposals submitted to him for the reorganisation of secondary education in the London Borough of Harrow.

The Authority's revised proposals were submitted on 7th February, and are now being considered. I cannot yet say when a decision will be reached.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science when the scale for parental contributions to the cost of a student's university course was last revised; and what proposals he intends to make for a further revision.

The present scale was introduced in 1961. I am considering whether it should be altered when new rates of grant come into effect in the Autumn.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what steps he is taking, in cases of student financial hardship, to verify that parents are in fact able to make their assessed contribution; and whether he is satisfied that the present system of assessing contributions is sufficiently flexible and responsive to changing circumstances.

The contribution takes account of changes in the circumstances of parents. It is for local education authorities to investigate such changes.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the number of local education authorities in Wales which provide language laboratories; and if he will give the location of these laboratories and the number of institutions that each such laboratory serves, together with the teaching capacity of each laboratory.

15 of the 17 Welsh local education authorities provide language laboratories. I will send the hon. and learned Member a detailed list.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what proportion of the extra funds being made available for primary school building will be allocated for improvements to schools in rural areas.

No extra funds are being made available for primary school building as such. If my hon. Friend is referring to the £16 million for educational priority areas, my right hon. Friend's predecessor announced in Circular 11/67 that he intended to concentrate action on districts in industrial towns and conurbations and other old industrial areas where the need is greatest. We are following the same policy.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science, in view of the decision to accelerate the Redditch Development Corporation's rate of building during the period 1971 to 1975 to provide an additional 4,000 houses as a contribution to Birmingham's overspill problems, what plans he has for providing the additional school places which will be required.

The Local Education Authority will make whatever proposals they consider necessary and we will consider them on their merits alongside the Authority's current proposals for Red-ditch New Town.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what progress he is able to report on the provision of a technological university in the North-East.

The position remains that we cannot contemplate the establishment of any new unversities in the years immediately ahead.Three of the 30 polytechnics should be in the North-East—at Middlesbrough, Newcastle and Sunderland. The polytechnics schemes submitted by these three authorities are still being considered, but the decisions are likely to be announced very shortly.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether he will now establish a special committee to investigate the origins of violence at universities.

No. I see no need for such an inquiry.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will request the committee of inquiry into soccer to obtain evidence from representatives of the various supporters clubs throughout the country in regard to the allocation of tickets for the Football Association Cup Final and other big soccer games.

No. The Committee of Inquiry on Football has now completed its work and submitted its report.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether he will now ensure that special training in English is made available to all immigrant schoolchildren who are not fluent in English.

It is the general practice of local education authorities which are faced with this problem to make special arrangements to teach English to immigrant children. Help in the way of advice on teaching material is being given by the Schools Council and the Department gives all the help it can—particularly by increasing teacher quotas when necessary and sponsoring courses for teachers.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will permit a more favourable quota of teaching staff in maintained schools for those local education authorities which have a substantial school population of immigrant children or first generation children of immigrant parents.

More favourable quotas may already be claimed to meet the needs of immigrant children whose English is poor; for this purpose, immigrant children include children born in the United Kingdom whose parents have come here as immigrants less than 10 years ago.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what steps are taken by his Department generally, and in particular by his Welsh department, to ensure the standardisation of audio-visual equipment in schools and other educational establishments.

My Department has no responsibility for the purchase of audio-visual equipment by local education authorities in England and Wales. The National Council for Educational Technology advises bodies concerned with education and training on matters connected with audio-visual aids.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what steps he is taking to protect students against the effects of increases in charges proposed by university and college authorities.

I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given to the hon. Member for Cornwall, North (Mr. Pardoe) on 4th March. From now on proposed increases in charges by the universities and colleges will have to be considered in the light of Government policy on prices and incomes which will be described by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Economic Affairs today—[Vol. 760, c. 28.]

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether he will refer to the National Board for Prices and Incomes all increases in fees in students' halls of residence imposed during the period of restraint on students' grants.

I shall consider this Question in the light of Government policy on prices and incomes which will be described by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Economic Affairs later today.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science why he has not yet approved the building of the Lawford Primary School, although the Essex County Council have handed in their estimate for such a school, and a contractor has been appointed.

We had first to decide the status of this school and we are writing to the authority and promoters about this. I hope that work can then start.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will now state the date when those colleges of technology in Yorkshire will be established as polytechnics.

I cannot say at present. After a scheme has been approved, time must be allowed for the governing body to be set up and other preliminary action taken.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science by what authority members of the public were imprisoned inside the Victoria and Albert Museum recently; what steps he has taken to prevent a recurrence of such action; and what compensation he is paying to those who were wrongfully detained.

The doors were shut pending the arrival of the police, in an attempt to prevent the removal of stolen property. I regret any inconvenience caused to visitors to the Museum, who I understand, generally co-operated very readily in the action taken by the police and the Museum authorities. I can give no undertaking that similar action may not be necessary on a future occasion. No one has asked me for compensation.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science when he will reconstitute the National Advisory Council on Education, especially in view of the problems involved in polytechnic reorganisation proposals.

I refer the hon. Gentleman to my Answer to the hon. Member for Tonbridge (Mr. Hornby) on 8th February—[Vol. 758, c. 636.]

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the number of his officials occupied at any time in work on the payment of social benefits of any kind; and what this number represents as a percentage of the total of his officials.

25; less than 1 per cent.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the total expenditure on social benefits of any kind in absolute terms of money expended by his Department; and what this represents as a percentage of total expenditure of his Department.

All the expenditure of my Department is of social benefit. £3 million or 4·4 per cent., in 1967–68, was "current grants to persons" in the National Accounts Classification.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science in what proportion of state nursery schools or classes in Wales the Welsh language is used as the medium of instruction.

There are no State day nurseries in Wales established by a local health authority under Section 22 of the National Health Service Act, 1946.In none of the 41 nursery schools established by local education authorities is the Welsh language used as the medium of instruction.Welsh is the medium of instruction in nursery classes in the 39 Welsh primary schools and departments established in predominantly English-speaking areas and also in the neighbourhood schools in Welsh-speaking areas. Exact statistics are not available in respect of the latter group.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many sailing training schools have been established and are being run by local authorities in England and Wales.

This information is not available.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what consideration he has given to the establishment of a polytechnic in North Wales; and if he will make a statement.

The claims of North Wales were considered along with those of other areas when the 1966 White Paper was prepared. As proposed in the White Paper, discussions have taken place about the best arrangements for higher education in the area and have resulted in a proposal for the formation of a joint committee for the administration of courses of higher education in North Wales.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the average cost per vehicle of their removal from the streets in the London Metropolitan area; and if he will call for a report from the chief constable to ascertain the comparable figures for the city of Birmingham.

The present economic charge in the Metropolitan Police District is estimated to be a little over £4 10s. 0d. I understand that the average cost per vehicle removed by the police in Birmingham, where the number of removals is much smaller, is estimated to be nearly £6.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what has been the response to the requirement to notify the names of those addicted to narcotics to the Home Office; and if he will make a statement.

682 addicts to narcotic drugs had been notified by 18th March.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the latest date for which he has figures for those dependent on narcotics; and what, by age categories, were the figures on that date.

The latest figures relate to the year 1966; for figures by age categories, I would refer the right hon. Member to Table B in the reply which I gave to a Question by the hon. Member for Farnham (Mr. Maurice Macmillan) on 27th February—[Vol. 759, c. 329.]

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he is aware that Mr. James Eagles, a New Zealander and a journalist, has been refused permission to continue working here because his father was born in New Zealand and his mother in Great Britain, whereas had both parents been born here Mr. Eagles would have been permitted to stay here indefinitely; and whether he will now review this case to enable Mr. Eagles to remain here working as a journalist.

In July, 1967 Mr. Eagles applied for, and received, permission to stay in the United Kingdom until 30th June, 1968. That permission is still valid. It is open to Mr. Eagles to apply for a further extension of his stay in this country.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action he proposes to limit the size and scale of demonstrations in the Metropolitan Police area, and to check the visits of trouble-makers from foreign countries.

My right hon. Friend will keep the situation under review, but he has no power to limit the size of demonstrations. As regards the second part of the Question, any foreign national seeking entry could be excluded if he had behaved badly on a previous occasion, or if there was reason to believe that his entry would increase the difficulty of maintaining law and order.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action he proposes to take as a result of the report submitted to him in January, 1968 by the London and Counties Tenants' Federation about the effects of immigration upon the lives of many native-born citizens in towns where immigrants have settled in considerable numbers; what reply he has sent to the Federation; why he refused to receive a delegation from it; and whether he will make a statement.

My right hon. Friend received the Federation's report at the end of January and in reply, told them that he had noted their views. The Federation had already made these known in a number of letters and at a meeting with officers of my Department last October he did not accordingly consider that any useful purpose would be served by receiving a delegation personally.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the number of convictions for cruelty to children for the years 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, and 1967.

The number of persons convicted by magistrates' courts in England and Wales of cruelty to, or neglect of, children under Section 1 of the Children and Young Persons Act, 1933, were 469 in 1963, 445 in 1964, 453 in 1965 and 343 in 1966. The numbers of persons convicted of this offence by the higher courts are not known exactly, but were less than 20 in each of these years. Figures for 1967 are not yet available.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what information he has as to the latest estimated average weekly earnings in prisons, compared to the previous two years; what is the target rate for prison earnings; and when he estimates that this will be achieved.

The average weekly earnings of prisoners in England and Wales, excluding those employed outside prisons for normal wages, is 6s. 1d. This is about 20 per cent. higher than in 1964. Selected prisoners can already earn up to £1 a week and these opportunities are being extended. The eventual aim is to pay normal wages, but we cannot yet state when this will be achieved.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he hopes to institute a scheme for prisoners to be able to pay restitution from their prison earnings.

The possibility of securing reparation out of prisoners' earnings is being examined by the Advisory Council on the Penal System as part of its study of the question of reparation by the offender. My right hon. Friend will consider the matter further in the light of the Council's recommendations.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what contracts for Government work are at present held by prison workshops; and what plans he has to increase them.

Prisons in England and Wales hold 180 contracts for Government work. The total value in 1967 was £2·3 million. Through improved efficiency and better marketing, a large increase is planned in the range, quantity and quality of goods provided for both Government Departments and private industry.

asked the Postmaster-General how far in time are the 80 per cent. of telephone equipment orders running behind their delivery schedules.

About six months on average. We hope, however, that the manufacturers' increased capacity and improved methods of production control will result in deliveries starting to improve by the autumn.

asked the Postmaster-General what was the cost of the pamphlet released in the Bristol area advertising the Yellow Pages in the new telephone directories.

The cost of the 150,000 pamphlets distributed was £5,063 including delivery at postal rates.

asked the Postmaster-General what steps he is taking to speed up the delivery of letters in the Battle area as a result of the letter to him from the Clerk of the Battle Rural District Council with details of recent delays.

I much regret these delays. We shall do all we can to establish the causes and put matters right.

asked the Postmaster-General how many places in the area controlled by the Ballymena Postmaster have a Sunday collection of mail; and if he will take steps to improve the present service.

Twenty-two. Sunday collections in the area are under review and my right hon. Friend hopes to improve the present service.

asked the Postmaster-General what will be the alphanumeric address for 10 Downing Street when the system becomes operative in the London, S.W.1, area.

We are planning to code addresses in London South Western Postal Districts in 1969. Until then it will not be possible to say what the postcode for 10 Downing Street will be.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales when he expects traffic signals to be installed at the junction of Bridgend road with the Aberkenfig-Pyle road, B4281.

Glamorgan County Council, who are the highway authority, tell me that they expect to install the signals in about six months.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will instruct his Department to prepare a five-year national economic plan for Wales setting out objectives for the Welsh economy and also containing blueprints for the pursuance of those objectives.

The Government's medium-term objectives for the Welsh economy are set out in the White Paper, Wales: The Way Ahead (Cmnd. 3334). I am satisfied with the progress being made in the pursuance of these objectives.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he will now order a 10 per cent. cut in expenditure at each of Great Britain's overseas embassies.

No.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he will list the foreign regimes recognised de facto by Her Majesty's Government since the last war.

Bearing in mind that de facto recognition is in most cases to be implied from dealings with the Government concerned for the purposes of transacting the ordinary business of State, the production of such a list would require an examination of every case in which there had been a change of regime not resulting from normal constitutional processes in any foreign State and, apart from the rare cases in which de facto recognition had been expressly accorded, to consider whether the actions of Her Majesty's Government had constituted de factor recognition or not. In view of the number of changes in régime since 1945 and the varied circumstances and complicated legal issues involved the production of such a list would involve lengthy research and I regret, therefore, that I cannot supply the information requested.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what will be the size of the governing body of the independent national institute to be housed at the Royal United Services Institute; and how many representatives of his Department will be on its governing body.

I understand that after the R.U.S.I. is reorganised its Council will consist of twenty-four members, of whom it is proposed that three should represent the Ministry of Defence.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence whether the recent salary increases negotiated by Meteorological Office employees for their television appearances as weather forecasters conform with the prices and incomes policy; and whether he intends to refer the matter to the National Board for Prices and Incomes.

An increase from £3 per appearance to £5 10s. per day in the allowance paid to Experimental Officers who broadcast weather forecasts on television was awarded by the Civil Service Arbitration Tribunal. This follows an increase of nearly threefold in the number of broadcasts. There is no objection to the award on incomes policy grounds, so the question of referring it to the National Board for Prices and Incomes does not arise.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food on what date he informed the trade that beef in store from countries where foot-and-mouth disease is endemic would be freely licensed out of cold store; whether he is satisfied that there is no risk of infection from this meat; and if he will make a statement.

After I had informed the House on 4th March that the temporary ban on imports of beef from certain countries was to be lifted, I told the trade on 7th March that beef would be freely licensed from cold store. It is not possible to determine with certainty whether foot-and-mouth disease virus is or is not present in consignments of meat from countries in which the disease is endemic.

asked the Attorney-General whether he will give his consent for a prosecution under Section 2 of the Public Order Act, 1936 of the members or adherents of the associations which organised and trained or equipped persons participating in the display of physical force in Grosvenor Square on Sunday, 17th March.

Criminal proceedings are pending against certain individuals in connection with this demonstration. I have requested that the Police should investigate, and report to the Director of Public Prosecutions any evidence which is available for him to consider in relation to possible proceedings under Section 2 of the Public Order Act, 1936.

asked the Prime Minister whether he is satisfied that there are satisfactory liaison arrangements between the Board of Trade and the Foreign Office for co-ordinating efforts to expand Great Britain's exports to South Africa.

Yes.

asked the Prime Minister when he expects to make a statement on the question of a European Security Conference as was mentioned in his communiqué in Moscow on 24th January; and how often have his advisers on this question met their Soviet counterparts since 24th January.

I have as yet nothing to add to the Answers I gave to Questions on this subject on 29th February.—[Vol. 759, c. 1754–5.]

asked the Prime Minister if he will take steps to co-ordinate the work of the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Housing and Local Government in planning for high density building over important stations to encourage the maximum use of public service transport.

There is already close liaison between the two Departments on policies which are of mutual interest; but developments of this type would be for local planning authorities in the first place.

asked the Prime Minister if he is satisfied that adequate Government action is taken to deal with the problems of redundancy which arise from the merger of large firms; and if he will make a statement.

. Yes. It is the policy of the Government to encourage rationalisation which will increase industrial efficiency. It is also the policy of the Government, and we have given practical expression to this in a number of ways, that the problems of redundancy must be sympathetically handled. As the House knows, we are currently discussing with the Confederation of British Industry and the Trades Union Congress the possibility of issuing agreed guidance to all concerned in dealing with redundancies.

asked the Prime Minister what steps are now being taken towards achieving a peaceful solution in Rhodesia.

I would refer the hon. Member to the Answer I gave earlier this afternoon to a Question by my right hon. Friend the Member for Bassetlaw (Mr. Bellenger).

asked the Prime Minister whether, in view of the changed circumstances brought about by the French Government prior to and during the present crisis connected with the run on gold and its effect upon the £ sterling, it is still Her Majesty's Government's intention to request the French Government to facilitate Great Britain's entry into the Common Market.

Our application for membership of the European Communities stands and was made to the Six as a whole.

asked the Prime Minister if he will state the number of Royal commission appointed in each of the last 22 years their main purpose, the extent to which their recommendations have been implemented by legislation or otherwise, and his proposals in each case

ROYAL COMMISSIONS APPOINTED SINCE 1944
Date Appointed							Date of Report
1944	Royal Commission on Population	…	…	…	…	…	1949
1944	Royal Commission on Equal Pay	…	…	…	…	…	1946
1946	Royal Commission on Justices of the Peace		…	…	…	…	1948
1946	Royal Commission on Awards to Inventors		…	…	…	…	Terminated 1955
1947	Royal Commission on the Press	…	…	…	…	…	1949
1949	Royal Commission on Lotteries, Betting and Gaming			…	…	…	1951
1949	Royal Commission on Capital Punishment		…	…	…	…	1953
1950	Royal Commission on Taxation of Profits and Income				…	…	1953 and finally in 1955
1951	Royal Commission on Dundee (University College) and relationship with St. Andrews University						1952
1951	Royal Commission on Marriage and Divorce		…	…	…	…	1956
1952	Royal Commission on Scottish Affairs	…	…	…	…	…	1954
1952	Royal Commission on Land and Population in East Africa				…	…	1955
1953	Royal Commission on Pay and Conditions of Service in the Civil Service			…	…	…	1955
1954	Royal Commission on the Law relating to Mental Illness and Mental Deficiency		…	…	…	…	1957
1955	Royal Commission on Common Land	…	…	…	…	…	1958
1957	Royal Commission on the Remuneration of Doctors and Dentists					…	1960
1957	Royal Commission on Local Government in Greater London					…	1960
1959	Royal Commission on the Police	…	…	…	…	…	1962
1961	Royal Commission on the Press	…	…	…	…	…	1962
1964	Royal Commission on the Penal System in England and Wales					…	Wound up 1966
1965	Royal Commission on Trades Unions and Employers' Associations
1965	Royal Commission on Prices and Incomes		…	…	…	…	Wound up 1967
1965	Royal Commission on Medical Education		…	…	…	…
1966	Royal Commission on Tribunals of Inquiry (Evidence) Act 1921					…	1966
1966	Royal Commission on Local Government in England
1966	Royal Commission on Local Government in Scotland
1966	Royal Commission on Assizes and Quarter Sessions

asked the Minister of Health what arrangements he now proposes for relieving the chronic sick of the cost of prescription charges under his long-term scheme using embossed cards.

In framing such proposals I have had regard to the understandable reluctance of the medical profession to accept responsibility for exercising discretion in the identification of those to be regarded as chronically sick for this purpose. I have therefore tried to define objectively, with the help of representatives of the profession, categories in which are to be found patients certain to need continuous medication for long periods and which admit of no discretion as to identification of individuals. These are as follows:

I regret that the information for which the right hon. Gentleman asks could only be obtained at a disproportionate cost but I append a list of Royal Commissions set up since 1944 as a guide to the right hon. Gentleman in pursuing his research.

(a) Permanent fistula, including caecostomy, colostomy or ileostomy, requiring a continuous surgical dressing or an appliance.

(b) Diabetes mellitus and other endocrine disorders for which specific substitution therapy is essential, viz.:

• Myxoedema.
• Hypoparathyroidism.
• Hypopituitrism.
• Addison's disease and other forms of Hypoadrenalism.
• Myasthenia gravis.

(c) Epilepsy requiring continuous anti-convulsive therapy.

(d) A patient whose continuing physical disability prevents him from moving outside his residence unaided.

This necessarily limited categorisation left the problem of others, outside the categories, who require numerous prescriptions. My proposal for covering them is that they should be able to obtain an exemption card, to last for a fixed period, on payment of a fee representing the cost of no more than say two or three prescriptions a month. Such people will thus be relieved of the excess burden which their special need for medication would otherwise impose.There would be refund arrangements to cover cases where the cost of such a card would involve financial hardship.I have commended these proposals to the profession as meeting both the need to prevent hardship among the chronic sick and the understandable desire of doctors, without whose help the chronic sick cannot be defined for exemption from charges, to avoid disputes with their patients which might damage the doctor/ patient relationship.

asked the Minister of Health whether the study by the Government Social Survey of the identification of the disabled and their problems has yet started; and if he will make a statement.

Some pilot studies have already been carried out. Trial postal screening will start shortly.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government which local authorities in Somerset have offered council houses for sale; and what is the number offered by each authority, and the number purchased.

In 1967 the following local authorities in Somerset sold one or more council houses:

£'000
				1962–63	1963–64	1964–65	1965–66	1966–67
Trunk Roads	…	…	…	8,381	8,896	10,975	14,310	19,119
Classified Roads	…	…	…	18,226	19,856	19,599	18,743	22,476
Unclassified Roads	…	…	…	4,526	5,371	5,795	6,231	6,915
Total	…	…	…	31,133	34,123	36,369	39,284	48,510

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what were the number of public and private house completions in each of the years from 1962 to 1967.

I refer to the reply given to my hon. Friend the Member for Fife, West (Mr. William Hamilton) on 24th January, which included this information.—[Vol. 757, c. 116.]

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many new teacher training places have been created in Scotland in each year from 1962.

The figures are as follows:

1962	Nil
1963	Nil
1964	1,400
1965	100
1966	1,245
1967	300

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what has been the expenditure on major roads and local authority roads, respectively, in each of the years from 1962 to 1967.

Total expenditure by the Exchequer and local authorities on all purposes (principally construction, improvement and maintenance) was as follows:

asked the Minister of Technology how much of the £13 million spent annually by the Government on research and development in marine science and technology is spent in Wales.

Expenditure in marine science and technology at Establishments in Wales is estimated to be £140,000 in 1967–68 excluding expenditure at universities.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether, in the official re-examination of national airport policy, he will give an assurance that the claims of the Severnside area are not overlooked.

Any reexamination of national airport policy would take into account the needs of all areas, including Severnside.

asked the President of the Board of Trade when he proposes to implement in full the recommendations of the Jenkins Committee on Company Law Reform.

We hope, later in this Parliament, to propose legislation to implement those of the Jenkins Committee's recommendations which the Government accept and which were not dealt with in last year's Companies Act.

asked the Minister of Transport if she will give the figures of accidents on the roads in Durham and Gateshead, respectively, involving fatal, serious and slight injury since October, 1967 to the latest date for which figures are available; how they compare with the figures for the same period 12 months earlier; and what is the percentage increase or decrease.

The numbers of casualties in road accidents were as follows:

	October, 1967 to January, 1968*	October, 1966 to January, 1967	Percentage Change
	Number	Number
Co. Durham (excluding Gateshead)
Fatal	55	88	-37
Serious	447	491	-9
Slight	1,661	2,075	-20
Gateshead
Fatal	5	6	-17
Serious	28	41	-32
Slight	132	168	-21
* Provisional figures for January.

asked the Minister of Transport if she is satisfied with the progress being made in alleviating the road congestion on the A38 in Taunton and Wellington; and if she will make a statement.

Yes. We are satisfied that the right solution is to provide a new road linking the M5 at Edithmead with Exeter and thereby to remove from Taunton and Wellington the through traffic which causes congestion there in the summer months; and we shall accord this project its proper priority in our national plans. Meanwhile additional traffic management measures will be introduced as necessary and local improvements made to the A38 in these towns.

asked the Minister of Transport what are the total cuts in 1968–69 road estimates for maintenance in class I, II, III and unclassified roads in Somerset.

The maintenance of these roads is the responsibility of the local highway authorities in Somerset. It will be for these authorities to decide how much they will spend on this service in the light of the advice which has been given to them both by my right hon. Friend and by my right hon. Friend the Minister of Housing and Local Government.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer on what grounds Her Majesty's Inspectors of Taxes have informed taxpayers that they are discontinuing the practice hitherto adopted in certain cases in issuing a form of return directly to the taxpayer's agent.

A return form ought to be sent directly to the taxpayer to ensure that it is validly served under the law. Recently Inspectors of Taxes have been instructed to discontinue any local practice of sending returns direct to agents except in the case of the illness or absence abroad of the taxpayer.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how the 10 per cent. which is the proportion not purchased or hired in England of all goods and services purchased and hired by the Government is distributed between the other countries of the United Kingdom.

Of contracts placed by the Government, about 6 per cent. by value are let in Scotland, about 2 per cent. by value in Wales, and about 1 per cent by value in Northern Ireland.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will give the figures for real disposable personal incomes corresponding to the figures for consumers' expenditure on page 38 of the Financial Statement 1968–69.

No. The scope of the information set out in Part III of the Financial Statement has been very carefully considered, and represents a great advance on the practice of all Governments since the war.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will give figures for disposable personal incomes in 1968–69.

I would refer the hon. Gentleman to my reply to his previous Question.