asked the President of the Board of Trade what estimate he has made of the cost in a full year per job created of all measures of Government assistance to development areas which are not available in other areas.

Only a proportion of all Government assistance to the development areas is directly related to the creation of fresh employment, and an estimate of the kind described by the hon. Member would not be meaningful.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what recent representations he has received from the distributive trades about the validity of official statistics on the trend of employment in those trades and the incidence of the Selective Employment Tax upon them; and if he will make a statement.

It has been represented to me that for technical reasons the official estimate of the fall in employment in distribution between June, 1966, and June, 1967, is exaggerated. I am satisfied, however, that there has been a fall in employment in this sector.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he will now take steps to encourage new investment in coastal resort towns outside the development areas.

The proposals for new incentives for hotels, which my right hon. Friend has already announced, should help the coastal resorts outside the development areas. In operating the control over industrial development certificates the development areas must continue to have priority, but subject to this we are prepared to consider applications for i.d.c.s for coastal resorts outside those areas where the projects are suited to their needs and resources.—[Vol. 761, cc. 103–5.]

asked the President of the Board of Trade, when he expects to introduce legislation in relation to his proposals for grants and loans for hotel development.

As soon as Parliamentary time permits.

asked the President of the Board of Trade, what is his estimate of the number of extra hotel beds which will be provided as a result of his proposals for hotel development grants and loans.

I have nothing to add to the answer which my right hon. Friend gave to the hon. Member for Blackpool, South (Mr. Blaker) on 27th March, 1968.—[Vol. 761, c.278–9.]

asked the President of the Board of Trade, if he will send a circular to local authorities advising them to set up departments with the aim of protecting the consumer; and if he will make a statement.

No. It is for local authorities to decide what means of advising and helping the consumer are most appropriate in all the local circumstances.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will publish a White Paper on the outcome of the United Nations Commission on Trade and Development II.

Yes. I propose to publish a White Paper as soon as possible.

asked the President of the Board of Trade, whether he is aware that marine forgings from member companies of the Italian Istituto per la Ricostruzione Industriale are being offered in this country at prices indicating the existence of substantial subsidies; and whether, in view of this prima facie evidence of dumping, he will cause an inquiry to be held in order to protect British suppliers.

The British manufacturers of marine forgings recently had preliminary discussions with Board of Trade officials about a possible application under the Customs Duties (Dumping and Subsidies) Act, 1957. When we have received an application, we shall decide whether to make a full investigation.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what additional arrangements he is making within his Department to follow up with those concerned increases in the retail price of products for which he has responsibility, in order that such increases may conform with the policy set out in paragraph 23 of Command Paper No. 3590.

No additional arrangements are needed; my Department already maintains close and regular contacts with manufacturers' and distributors' organisations.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what advice he is giving to firms which contemplate moving from London or elsewhere into the East Anglian region but are concerned about the restrictions and extra costs proposed in the Transport Bill upon the flow of raw materials by existing road transport services.

My Department has no record of any expressions of concern about the proposals in the Bill from firms contemplating a move to East Anglia.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if plant and machinery installed to fillet or otherise process fish qualify for grant in accordance with his regulations made under the Industrial Development Act, 1966.

I am still considering the hon. Member's letter of 8th April and will reply as soon as possible.

asked the President of the Board of Trade why an investment grant has been refused to pea processors when the same grant is given to pea canners and is available on machinery used by seedsmen who prepare peas for seed.

I assume that the hon. Member is referring to the process known as pea-picking which, by contrast for example with the production of canned peas, is no more than an elaborate process for sorting and preparing peas for sale.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will seek to amend the law relating to guarantees.

The Law Commissions are considering the question of exclusion clauses, and we intend to await the interim report which they hope to submit later this year.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what has been the effect of devaluation on exports and percentage increase in the cost of imports.

Devaluation has not yet had a major effect on export volume, though it has been the main factor in the rise in export prices, in terms of sterling, of 4½ per cent. between October and February. Import prices over the same period, largely due to devaluation, have risen 9½ per cent.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what is the estimated number of new jobs created in Scotland since 1945; and how many of these have resulted from the injection of capital from outside Scotland.

I regret that the information in the form requested is not available. It is estimated that in industrial buildings completed for manufacturing industry in Scotland since 1945, 210,000 people will be employed when the projects are fully manned. Some 93,000 are employed in establishments set up since 1945 by non-Scottish manufacturing companies.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will make unilaterally some of the concessions he was prepared to make at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development in Delhi, especially as regards processed agricultural goods; if he will propose reopening the discussions, possibly through the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development; and if he will make a statement.

There will be intensive discussions in the O.E.C.D. over the course of this year as a follow-up to the work of the Second United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. The product coverage of a generalised preference scheme will be fully considered.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he will make a further statement on the advance factory in Sunderland which at present is unoccupied.

Efforts to find a suitable tenant are continuing.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will list the location of the advance factories built and under construction in the South-Western Region; which are occupied and by what firms; and what inquiries are in hand for the remainder.

Nine Board of Trade advanced factories have been approved in the South-West. The location and current development of each of these is as follows:

asked the President of the Board of Trade what is the representative ratio of export price to imported raw material costs for the following British products, that is to say, motor cars, textiles, airframes, areoengines and machine-tools, respectively, and the total exports of each in the last available 12-month period.

Information on the first part of the Question is not available. Except for airframes, which are not separately distinguished in the trade statistics, information on the second part of the Question is available in Table II of the Overseas Trade Accounts for December, 1967, and February, 1968.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he will make a statement on the results of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, 1968.

I refer my hon. Friend to the Answer I gave on 8th April to the Question from my hon. Friend the Member for Sheffield, Heeley (Mr. Hooley).—[Vol. 762, c. 887–891.]

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he will publish in the OFFICIAL REPORT details of the industrial development certificates granted for the Portsmouth area, in each of the past five years, with special reference to the character of the industrial undertaking, the number and type of personnel employed and the proportion of male and female employees.

Details of individual projects are confidential, but the total figures of industrial development certificates issued for the employment exchange areas of Portsmouth, Havant, Gosport and Fareham for projects over 5,000 square feet are as follows:

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will introduce legislation to require door-to-door salesmen of magazines to register with a central register to prevent fraudulent dealings with the public.

No. The publicity given to this type of selling has forewarned many people of the possible dangers, and I do not think that legislation to control this particular practice would be justified. If my hon. Friend is aware of any cases which seem to warrant investigation, perhaps he would let me know.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what is the number of applications outstanding with the Board of Trade Advisory Committee.

965 as at 1st April, 1968. There has been a change in the method of recording the receipt of applications in B.O.T.A.C. to reflect the fact that the Committee, in order to speed procedures, are starting their investigation of applications at an earlier stage. The comparable figure for 1st April on the former method would have been 705.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether, in considering the Report of the Films Council, he will give full consideration to the views of the eight members of the Council who signed a minority report.

Full consideration will be given to the minority report together with the other representations made to the Board of Trade.

asked the President of the Board of Trade (1) if he will make a statement on the Government's future policy regarding support for the National Film Finance Corporation;(2) if he will seek to provide a fresh fund of £10 million to replace the exhausted funds of the National Film Finance Corporation which maintained the existence of the British film industry during difficult times and is now in a position to show a profit on Government money invested.

Consideration of the future of the N.F.F.C. is a major element in the Government's current review of films legislation. It is not, therefore, possible to make a statement on this subject while the review is in progress.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what representations he has received since the decision was made to close Brough Airport for commercial passenger traffic; and what steps he is taking to ensure that alternative facilities will be available before the closure of Brough takes effect.

I have had representations on this matter from the hon. Members whose constituents are affected, from the City Council of Kingston upon Hull and others.With regard to the provision of alternative facilities, I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Kingston upon Hull, West on 10th April, 1968.—[Vol. 762, c. 259.]

asked the President of the Board of Trade when he intends to announce the composition and terms of reference of the inquiry on the siting of the third London airport.

As soon as possible.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he has yet appointed assessors to assist Mr. E. Faye, Q.C., in conducting the new inquiry regarding Captain J. Thain and the Munich air crash of 1958.

Yes. Professor A. R. Collar, C.B.E., M.A., D.Sc., F.R.S., Professor of Aeronautical Engineering at the University of Bristol, and Captain J. R. Jeffrey, O.B.E., J.P., a senior B.O.A..C. Captain, have accepted invitations to act as Assessors. I am grateful to them for their willingness to serve.

asked the President of the Board of Trade when he expects the Committee of Inquiry into the Shipping Industry, under Lord Rochdale, to report.

The Committee are aware of the urgency of their task and have been hoping to complete it by the early summer of 1969, but, in view of the far-reaching nature of the evidence which they are receiving, it may not be possible for them to report until later in that year.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he has yet made a final estimate of the net contribution of the United Kingdom shipping industry to the balance of payments in 1967; and by how much it exceeded that of 1966.

Final figures are not yet available, but the provisional estimate for 1967 is £246 million, £100 million more than in 1966.

asked the Minister of Transport whether he is aware of the large number of serious accidents which have occurred in recent years at Need-wood crossroads, Bebington; and what proposals he has for emergency safety measures pending the completion of the Mid-Wirral motorway in the early nineteen-seventies.

It has been agreed that traffic signals can be authorised for the junction. The highway authority are preparing site plans for my Divisional Road Engineer's authorisation.

asked the Minister of Transport whether he will request local highway authorities to invite suggestions from the general public regarding improvements in road safety.

All local authorities are glad to receive such suggestions from the public. But since a limited number of improvements can be undertaken at any one time, a local authority's principal concern should be that money and manpower are used where they will do most good.

asked the Minister of Transport when the next census of heavy traffic will be taken on the A625 between Harewood Bridge and Pool-in-Wharfedale; what has caused the increase of the traffic on this narrow twisting road with three miles of bends; how broad is the road in front of Bradley's Farm; and what plans he has for broadening the road at this dangerous point.

The West Riding County Council, as highway authority, has no plans for a further census. We are not aware of any significant increase in traffic on this road. On the question of improvement of the road, the narrowest part of which in front of Bradley's Farm is just under 16 feet, I have nothing to add to the reply given to the hon. and gallant Member on 3rd April.—[Vol. 762, c. 102.]

asked the Minister of Transport why the Stranraer-Cairnryan area has been omitted from the maritime industrial development areas being surveyed on behalf of his Department; and whether he will make a statement.

This area was included in the consultants' preliminary study of possible sites, but did not meet the basic physical requirements for development as a maritime industrial area.The Government Departments concerned and the National Ports Council have now asked the consultants to study six sites in greater detail; three meet the basic physical requirements, three almost do and deserve further consideration.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will set up a departmental inquiry to examine the potential of the whisky distilling industry to assist economic development in the Highlands and north-east of Scotland.

I have nothing to add to the answer I gave in the House on 10th April.—[Vol. 762, c. 1363.]

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) if he will make a statement about the incident in Rosslynlee Hospital, Midlothian, where a patient was stripped of his clothing on arrival to facilitate the arrangements of the exchanging hospital;(2) if he will take steps to amend the system in Scottish hospitals whereby patients on exchange from other hospitals are stripped of their clothes on arrival in order to have them sent back to the exchanging hospitals.

I understand that following the recent transfer of a patient from Hartwood Hospital, Lanarkshire, to Rosslynlee Hospital, Midlothian, the nurse who was escorting the patient asked for the return of his clothes so that he could take them back to Hartwood. The patient was accommodated in a private room and he was provided with new clothing by the receiving hospital as soon as possible.I understand that the Mental Welfare Commission is inquiring into this matter. I shall be issuing guidance shortly to hospital authorities to prevent a recurrence of this kind of sitution.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will recommend the appointment of a Royal Commission to investigate the causes of violence in Scottish cities.

No.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the total public investment in housing in each of the last 10 years; and what is the estimate for 1969–70.

The information for the years 1959–60 to 1966–67 is set out below. Figures for earlier years on the same basis, and for subsequent years, are not available.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the total level of public investment in the years 1961–62, 1962–63, 1963–64, 1964–65, 1965–66, 1966–67 and 1967–68; and what is the estimate for the current financial year.

The yearly totals of identifiable public investment in Scotland from 1961–62 to 1966–67 are as follows:

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received from the industries concerned about the failure of the Government to implement the recommendations of the Bland Committee on Invisible Exports regarding Selective Employment Tax; and what replies he has sent.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received about putting into effect the recommendations of the Bland Committee that invisible exports should be relieved of the impact of Selective Employment Tax; and what reply he has sent.

My right hon. Friend received a number of representations before the Budget about the Selective Employment Tax in relation to invisible exports. He replied that he would take them into account in framing his proposals.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his estimate of the cost to the hotel industry in a full year of the recent increases in Purchase Tax.

No sufficient information is available to enable such an estimate to be made.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what study he has given to the decision of Rugby Portland Cement to declare an immediate interim dividend payable simultaneously with its final dividend in respect of the last financial year; and if he will refrain from seeking powers to prevent other companies copying this example.

It is convenient to both the Government and to companies to operate the dividend restraint scheme by reference to total dividend payments in respect of companies' own account years. But if companies seek to avoid dividend restraint, the Government will need to consider other methods of operation.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer why he objected to the decision of Lesney Limited to make an issue of bonus shares to its shareholders, but approved of its decision to make a scrip issue instead.

In fact, the course recommended by the directors of this company was the splitting of existing shares into units of a reduced nominal value, to which there is no objection.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what arrangements he has made to ensure that winter staff surpluses do not result from the need to recruit adequate Customs and Excise staff to cope with tourist traffic during the peak holiday months.

Recruitment of permanent staff to the Waterguard Service, whose functions include the Customs clearance of travellers' baggage, is geared to the basic work load of the Service rather than to the peak passenger traffic. The upsurge of passenger traffic at certain places during the summer months is met by a variety of special measures. At times when the numbers required for baggage clearance are smaller, staff can be redeployed to other types of work.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he will now take to encourage profitable capital investment overseas in order to bring a return on capital invested back to this country.

I do not propose to change the arrangements in this field at present.

asked the Minister of Technology what studies he has made of the effects on the machine tool industry of membership of the European Common Market.

My Department made a broad assessment of this as part of a general study carried out of the industrial implications of E.E.C. membership. The Government also had the benefit of the studies carried out by the C.B.I. and by the Machine Tool Trades Association.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will publish the findings of the inquiries into the four crashes of Shackleton aircraft in the past six months; and what steps he is taking to satisfy himself that these aircraft are airworthy.

I would refer the hon. Member to the full statement I made on 23rd April.—[Vol. 763, c. 34–7.]

asked the Secretary of State for Defence when the Shackleton aircraft at R.A.F. St. Mawgan are to be replaced by Nimrods.

I would refer the hon. Member to my statement and answers to supplementaries on 23rd April.—[Vol. 763, c. 34–7.]

asked the Secretary of State for Defence how many of the Shackleton aircraft at R.A.F. St. Mawgan are Mark I; how many are Mark II; how many are Mark III; and how many of the Mark III are upgraded Mark IIs.

It would not be in accord with normal practice for me to publish details of aircraft strengths at an R.A.F. station.All Mark III Shackletons are new-built aircraft.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what is the basis under his regulations of the pension entitlement of the widow of a former regular member of the Armed Forces.

The principal conditions governing entitlement to a forces family pension of a widow of a retired member of the Armed Forces who dies today are that the husband must have been in receipt of a Service pension; that the marriage was contracted before his retirement; and in the case of widows of ranks below W.O.I that the husband gave service reckonable for pension after 31st August, 1950.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science, what increase or decrease there has been in the non-industrial staff of his Department since 15th October, 1964; and what decrease he anticipates during the next six months.

The non-industrial staff of my Department which exercises much wider responsibilities than the former Ministry of Education has increase since 15th October, 1964 by 866 full-time and 41 part-time officers. I expect the size of the Department to be very little changed during the next six months.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) whether he has provided offices for the Independent Television Authority in the underground regional seats of Government;(2) whether he has provided offices for the British Broadcasting Corporation in the underground regional seats of Government.

Disclosure of this information would not be in the public interest.

asked the Postmaster General, what estimate he has formed of the annual cost which will be involved in sorting and separation of first and second class mail for delivery purposes; and what additional staff will have to be recruited for this purpose.

I do not expect any significant change in running costs as a result of introducing two-tier service, but until we know how postings will divide between first and second class services, a reliable estimate is not possible. We shall not be recruiting additional staff specifically for this purpose.

asked the Postmaster General, whether letters franked On Her Majesty's Service will be treated as first or second class mail when the two-tier system of deliveries is introduced.

The choice between the first class and the second class service will be available to users of the Official Paid service, as to posters of other mail. The service required will be indicated by superscription on the envelope.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works if he will take steps to prevent the sale of London Bridge to interests in a foreign country.

I have been asked to reply.The demolition of London Bridge was authorised by an Act of Parliament. My right hon. Friend has no power to prevent the sale of its constituent parts, and he would not think it right to seek to do so.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works what safeguards he proposes, to protect this nation's heritage of historic buildings and monuments from purchase and exploitation by foreign interests.

I have been asked to reply.Safeguards already exist, in that historic buildings and ancient monuments can be statutorily listed under the Town and Country Planning Act, 1962 or the Ancient Monuments Acts. Notice must be given of proposals to demolish or alter them, and the local planning authority or the Government have power to intervene to prevent the work.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works when the practice of providing official transport to convey the Chief Whip from the House at the close of each day's business was extended to include all other Government Whips.

The practice was extended in this way early in 1965.