asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government what further progress has been made in the establishment of smoke control areas during the past year.

In the 12 months ending on 30th June, 311 smoke control orders were made, covering 470,000 premises. Forty-five per cent. of the premises in the black areas are now covered.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government what further consideration he has given to the problems arising in many south coast towns, particularly from the increasingly high age structure of the population, in the light of the comments of the South-East Economic Planning Council.

These problems are still being studied. The Government's conclusions are likely to be announced as part of the reply to the South East Economic Planning Council's report.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government if he is satisfied with the emergency arrangements put into operation by local authorities in the event of a burst water pipe necessitating the cutting off of supplies of water to the area concerned; and if he will make a statement.

The arrangements appear to be generally satisfactory. Regrouping into larger undertakings is enabling those of some small water undertakers to be improved. If the hon. Member has any particular case in mind I will certainly make inquiries.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government if he will set up a general inquiry into the present conditions of Great Britain's rivers and the amount of work remaining to be done to restore their wholesomeness.

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales and I intend to ask river authorities to collaborate with our Departments in the production of a report on the present state of the rivers of England and Wales, on prospective increases in effluents discharged into them and on work needed to maintain or restore their wholesomeness. Consultations on the scope of the survey will start immediately.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government if he will take steps to amend the Land Commission Act to help elderly people on small fixed incomes.

Levy is payable where development value has been realised. It is not practicable to make exemptions based on the individual circumstances of persons liable to levy, but the Commission is willing to consider requests for payment by instalments if there is difficulty over payment.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government if he will take steps by legislation or otherwise, to keep the water rate in north-east Essex stable.

I am not convinced that legislation is necessary, but I am always ready to consider any evidence that an increase does not satisfy the Government's criteria for price behaviour.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government if he will make a statement about the growth of Berwick-upon-Tweed and his proposals for assisting the local authorities to achieve it.

The White Paper on the Scottish Economy stressed the need to stimulate growth at Berwick-upon-Tweed as the best hope of arresting population decline in the Eastern borders. The Government recognise that exceptional measures are necessary to bring it about.The Development Commission have made a start with one advanced factory and another is to follow. A special grant will be made towards the cost of a new sewerage scheme. Houses provided for incoming industry may attract extra subsidy under Section 5(2,

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government what plans he has for compensating persons whose business is injuriously affected by development necessary in the public interest although no part of their property has to be compulsorily acquired.

As I said during the Second Reading of the Town and Country Planning Bill, my right hon. Friend has received certain general representations about compensation which need further study. These include the question of injurious affection.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government what steps he is taking to provide for the transfer of the assets of development corporations in the new towns to the appropriate local authorities.

My right hon. Friend is still examining the complex problems involved, and is not yet in a position to make a further statement.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government why he decided not to confirm the Bishop's Stortford Urban District Council (New-town) No. 1 Compulsory Purchase Order, 1967.

This Order included 77 houses and two shops. The council represented that 35 houses were unfit for habitation or otherwise injurious to health and should be demolished and that the others needed to be bought and also demolished for satisfactory development.There were objections to the Order. A Ministry Inspector held a local inquiry and inspected the houses. He found only 17 unfit and thought many of these could be made fit. He recommended against the Order. I agreed, having regard to the overwhelming preponderance of fit houses, that demolition was not appropriate.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government when he expects to come to a decision concerning the city of St. Albans' Central Area Plan.

My right hon. Friend hopes to consult the Hertfordshire County Council shortly on proposed modifications. These will have to be published and comments invited before a final decision is taken.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government if he has now notified the county boroughs involved in his proposals for the creation of a Greater Tyneside of his decision to proceed with the project; and why he issued an announcement of action before he was in possession of the Report of the Royal Commission on Local Government.

I have made no proposals for the reorganisation of local government on Tyneside nor shall I do so until the Report of the Royal Commission on Local Government in England has been received and considered.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government if he will announce the composition, and terms of reference, of his proposed committee to review the operation of the Greater London rate equalisation scheme.

A working party of officials from the London Boroughs Association, the City of London Corporation, the Greater London Council and the Department has already begun a study of the technical aspects of the Greater London rate equalisation scheme. Professor Ilersic, the author of the present scheme, has accepted my invitation to join this working party.I hope they will be able to report their findings in the autumn to a group of members, representing the same bodies, which is to be formed under the chairmanship of my hon. Friend the Joint Parliamentary Secretary. It will be for that body to make recommendations to me for any changes they consider desirable.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government what standard in planning matters is laid down by the Government to ensure that an objective assessment and conclusion on the amenity of any particular area is reached; and if he will take steps to ensure these standards are applied by an independent body of qualified and detached persons.

The hon. Member is asking for the impossible. These are essentially matters of subjective judgment.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government if he will issue a circular to local authorities advising them to put out to competition more tenders for repair and maintenance work, so as to receive the benefit of services secured in the widest market.

My right hon. Friend is considering whether further guidance to local authorities is required on repair and maintenance work as distinct from new construction, whether carried out by direct labour or by contractors.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government whether he will instruct the Land Commission to sell land to local authorities for unremunerative uses at reduced prices where this land forms an essential part of a comprehensive development for the rest of which full values are being obtained.

The Commission would be prepared to consider such an arrangement if suitable comprehensive development schemes arose.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government what grants have been made on the recommendations of the Historic Buildings Council towards the cost of repairs to buildings or bridges in the county of Dorset during the last six months.

Grants have been offered and accepted for a manor house at Smedmore, Wareham; Came House at Winterborne Came; and Frampton Park Bridge.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government if he will introduce legislation providing for the appointment of municipal ombudsmen.

It is too early to reach a conclusion on this. As my hon. Friend will be aware the Maud Committee on Management did not favour such a proposal.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government whether he will reconsider the present regulations whereby as much as 33 per cent. is deducted from a pension when a woman teacher of the blind retires from local government service five years before the normal age of 65 years.

No. This is a contributory pension scheme with contributions and benefits related to normal retirement at 65. If a person not entitled to full pension until 65 voluntarily retires earlier, fewer contributions will have been paid and the pension is likely to be drawn for a longer period.The deduction from full pension rate is derived directly from these facts.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government if he will make a statement about the action taken by local authorities to implement the provisions of Section 1 of the Civic Amenities Act; and if he will circulate in the OFFICIAL REPORT a list of the conservation areas which have been designated.

Thirty local planning authorities have notified me up to 18th July of the designation of 70 conservation areas in England, and I will, with

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government why there has been such a long delay in publishing the Seebohm Report; and whether it will be published before the House rises for the summer adjournment.

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply given today by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister in answer to a question by my hon. Friend the Member for The Hartlepools (Mr. Leadbitter)

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government why representatives of his Department who were invited to attend meetings of a Standing Joint Committee on Swimming Pool Standards, which included the Institute of Baths Management, the County Architects Society, the English Schools Swimming Association, and the Association of Swimming Pool Contractors Limited, did not attend.

I assume that the hon. Member is referring to the conference held in April, 1967. The reasons why the Department declined the invitation were explained at the time to the secretary of the Association of Swimming Pool Contractors Limited which sponsored the conference. This covered a field of activity much wider than that of the Department, whose responsibility is limited to public swimming pools provided by local authorities. The Department had already published detailed guidance on standards for pools of this type and is always ready to consider suggestions for amendment of those standards.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government if he will make a statement on the number of houses completed in the first six months of 1968.

I would refer my hon. Friend to today's forthcoming supply debate on home ownership and interest rates. 199,000 houses were completed in Great Britain in the first six months of 1968, compared with 187,000 in the same period of 1967.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government what progress has been made in reaching agreement with local planning authorities for the programming of land for housing to ensure that adequate land is available for the erection of houses for sale.

Discussions are continuing with planning authorities in the Outer Metropolitan Area. I am hopeful of co-operation between them and the Land Commission in making land available for house building.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government (1) whether his approval has been given to rent increases by the Carlisle City Council, particularly those for the old age pensioners whose rents have been increased by 10s. to 12s. a week; and if he will make a statement;(2) whether his attention has been drawn to the increase of council rents in Carlisle; and whether these exceed the limits recommended by the National Board for Prices and Incomes.

Carlisle's City Council's rent increases came into effect on 31st March, 1968 and so are outside the scope of Part III of the Prices and Incomes Act. My right hon. Friend asked the Council to review them, but I regret that they have decided to take no action. Old-age pensioners who receive supplementary benefit will normally have their rent allowance increased.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government whether he will introduce legislation to prevent evictions unless executed with the authority of a court order.

The Government have already brought in legislation prohibiting eviction without due process of law. Part HI of the Rent Act, 1965 has made it a criminal offence for an owner to enforce against a lawful residential occupier his right to recover possession of the premises otherwise than by proceedings in the court—and the penalties for illegal eviction are severe. I have recently written to my hon. Friend on a particular case which I think he has in mind.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government if he will allow the Greater London Council to raise their rents to an economic level providing that the total increase is spread over a number of years and that the increase in any one year does not exceed 10s. per week.

The overriding consideration at present must be the need to restrain increases in prices, including rents. My right hon. Friend is consulting with the local authority associations about proposals made by the National Board for Prices and Incomes concerning the longer term policy for determining local authority rents.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government what are the factors which cause the registered weekly rents of ordinary working-class rented houses in London to be, on average, double the registered rents for equivalent properties in Manchester and Liverpool.

Apart from the effect of scarcity of rented accommodation, which is excluded in determining registered rents, London rents have over many years been substantially higher than elsewhere, reflecting the high costs of property, land and services generated by the pull of London as a capital city.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government whether he is aware that his interference with systems of rents operated by the Greater London Council will cost the ratepayers of London £4½ million next year; and whether, in view of the fact that this increased burden will be the direct result of Government action, he will make an interest-free loan of this amount to the Greater London Council.

I would refer the right hon. Member to my reply to the hon. Member for Bromley (Mr. Hunt) on 18th June.—[Vol. 766, c. 892–893.]

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government whether his Working Party on Financial Control in Local Authority Building Departments has yet begun work; and when it is expected to report.

Yes. It is too soon to give a definite time for the Working Party to report.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government whether he has completed the urgent consideration of the effect of the provisions of the Finance Bill on the operation of the mortgage option scheme; and if he will make a statement.

It has always been made clear that the choice between option and ordinary mortgages should be based on a judgment of the balance of advantage over the life of the mortgage. In the minority of cases, where the advantage or disadvantage of an option mortgage is marginal, changes in family circumstances, interest rates or tax can marginally tip the balance of advantage the other way. But to provide for new options whenever this occurred would make the scheme unworkable.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government

If the rent for a dwelling, however long the lease, is high enough to bring the tenancy within the Rent Acts, it would be wrong to allow a premium to be charged on its assignment; but my right hon. Friend will seek an early opportunity to remove the uncertainty about service charges, which I believe the hon. Member has in mind.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government what were the rate support grants or their equivalent paid to the Lancashire County Council, the Audenshaw Urban District Council and the Denton, Lancashire, Urban District Council in the years since 1961.

The information is as follows:

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government what estimate he has made of the number of homes which will have been built in Warwickshire and the borough of Tam-worth, respectively, to house Birmingham overspill from 1951 to 1971, inclusive.

780 houses had been built for overspill at Tamworth up to the end of 1967. It is hoped at present to continue building at a rate of 700 houses per year up to 1971.In Warwickshire some 5,000 houses have been provided to date, and it is hoped to provide about another 13,000 by 1971.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government what representations he has received in the last few months regarding the harassment of private tenants in the London area; and what reply he has sent.

Representations arising from a case in her constituency have been made to me by my hon. Friend the Member for Clapham (Mrs. McKay). Proceedings are being taken in this case, on which I cannot therefore comment. My right hon. Friend is, as he has told my hon. Friend, keeping in touch with its developments.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many mergers of public companies have occurred during the current financial year; in how many cases have Government Departments acquired shares in the companies so merged; in how many cases have such share acquisitions given to the Government a controlling interest; and if he will make a statement.

The reply to the first part of the question is not available; but I understand that 23 proposals for large-scale mergers were considered by the Board of Trade in the first three months of the current financial year. Only one merger taking place in that period involved Government participation and no controlling interest was acquired.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the practice of the Inland Revenue regarding the number of hours per week which a part-time service director must work in order to qualify to be treated for taxation purposes under Section 74(3) of the Finance Act, 1965.

Section 74(3), Finance Act, 1965 is regarded as applying to directors who work the same number of hours as. those normally worked by full-time employees of the company.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer, in view of the fact that, since devaluation, import prices have increased by 11 per cent. And export prices by only 5 per cent. And that for the six-month period December to May exports were only £2,952·9 million against £3,937·4 million for imports, if he will publish the additional data upon which he has based the fore cast of a surplus in the balance of payments; and whether he can now make a firm estimate of the date on which this surplus will be achieved.

I would refer the hon. Member to my Answer to his Question of 5th July and to my speech on the Third Reading of the Finance Bill on 4th July.—[Vol. 767, c.273–4; Vol. 767, c. 1790–2.]

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will now instruct Departments to adopt modern systems of planning, programming and budgeting, and consequently to submit all future estimates on the basis of functions, or groups of related activities, rather than in the traditional administrative categories.

I would refer the hon. Member, in respect of planning, programming and budgeting systems, otherwise known as output budgeting, to the replies which I gave to the right hon. Member for Wallasey (Mr. Marples) on 23rd May and 11th June. I am considering whether it is practicable to recast the Estimates to make them more informative, but this raises wider issues for both Parliament and the Government.—[Vol. 765, c.132–3; Vol. 766, c.15.]

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will now announce targets for the cost reductions which it is planned to achieve in all classes of the Civil Estimates for 1969–70 as against 1968–69; and whether he will request all Departments to take full account of these targets in then-preparatory work on the Estimates for next year.

No. The broad lines of the pattern and growth of public expenditure in 1969–70 were given in Cmnd. 3515, and Departments will draw up their Estimates within this framework taking full account of the need for efficiency and economy in Government spending.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will abolish Purchase Tax on all buoyancy aids and life jackets, including those which resemble garments, in view of the fact that these keep the victim warm while in the water.

Life saving equipment is already free of Purchase Tax. It would not be practicable to single out other articles which might be regarded as buoyancy aids.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether, in order that forward plans can be made for 1969 holiday arrangements, he will now make a statement on the level of foreign travel allowance for 1969; and if he will increase it.

I am not yet able to make announcement.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he is aware that the growing but legitimate tax avoidance practice of the sale of their services by self-employed persons in the entertainment industry for convertible loan stock in companies, is costly to the Revenue and confers an unjustifiable advantage over professional self-employed persons to whom this method of abating the present levels of taxation is not available; and if he will consider introducing legislation to regulate this practice.

I am aware of this practice and am keeping it under review.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) why he prevented Property Security Investment Trust Limited from implementing their promise made last January of increasing their final dividend payment from 4 per cent. To 5 per cent., whilst at the same time permitting other companies to increase their dividends under similar circumstances;(2) why in some instances he has permitted companies to give increased dividends because of announcements of promises or intentions made prior to the Budget and at the same time he has prevented others in the same circumstances to make such payments; and whether he will give a list of companies in each such category until the latest convenient stated date.

The forecast of its final dividend made by Property Security Investment Trust Limited did not constitute a binding commitment; it was accordingly asked, in common with many other companies, to restrict payment to a level consonant with the voluntary dividend restraint scheme.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will now refund Purchase Tax which the Salop County Council have paid and are still paying on furniture specifically designed for school use.

The question of refund of Purchase Tax does not arise if the furniture is of a kind also used for domestic or office purposes. I will look into the particular case if the hon. Member will let me have details.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer why a fractional symbol is to be shown on the reverse side of one coin of the proposed new decimal currency.

Because it has a fractional value.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many coloured per- sonnel are now employed in all branches of Government service for which he is responsible; what proportion are within the administrative, executive, clerical and industrial grades; and whether he will make a statement.

On an estimate made last September at least 16,400 in the Home Civil Service: of these over 50 were in Administrative and equivalent grades; about 300 in Executive and equivalent grades; some 8,000 in the Clerical, sub-clerical and equivalent grades; and about 8,000 in industrial grades. The Government do not recognise any distinction of this sort.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he has given consent to American Tobacco Company Limited to purchase a 50 per cent. share of the equity of Gallaher Limited.

The application is still under consideration.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish in the OFFICIAL REPORT a table showing the estimated value of the metal and the face value, respectively, of all silver coins in circulation, giving separate figures for the sixpence, shilling, florin and half-crown; and if he will advise Her Majesty to call in these coins by Royal Proclamation under section 11 of the Coinage Act, 1870.

The following table gives the information requested for silver alloy coins minted before 1947; since that date "white" coins have been manufactured from cupro-nickel alloy. The figures are subject to a considerable margin of error because it is not possible to calculate exactly the number of coins that have been lost or exported.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will move to raise the car mileage allowance payable to hon. Members in view of the increases in licence duty and petrol and oil costs since the rates were last revised in 1954.

This allowance is not related to costs incurred, but to the cost of the alternative means of travel by rail.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he is aware that civil servants who were in receipt of a salary of £3,250 in 1964 have had this reduced in purchasing value to £2,806 10s.; how many were in this salary scale in 1964; how many have not received an increase to date; and what, on average, have been the salary increases to the remainder.

All civil servants who in 1964 were earning £3,250 have since received increases through normal progression up incremental scales and by adjustments to those scales under normal Civil Service pay procedures. About 3,500 civil servants were on scales spanning £3,250 in 1964 but the effort required to identify and count those on this scale point would not be justified. The average increase at the mean of the scales of the larger grades in question, constituting about half of the 3,500 staff, has been 5·8 per cent.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer by what percentages the maximum pensions for 40 years' pensionable service ended 31st December, 1967, in the grades of postman, clerical officer, executive officer and principal exceed the corresponding pensions, including increases under Pensions (Increase) Acts, for service in those grades ended 31st December in the years 1946, 1950, 1954, 1962, and 1964, respectively.

The percentages are shown in the following table. London rates of pay have been used for figures up to 1954, since these correspond most closely with the outer London rates which were first introduced in 1961.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what is the policy of Her Majesty's Government towards the purchase of newly-mined gold by those central banks represented at the most recent Basle meeting;(2) what is now the policy of Her Majesty's Government towards the purchase of newly-mined gold by the International Monetary Fund at the most recent Basle meeting;

I have nothing to add to the statements which I made to the House on 18th March and 8th July.— [Vol. 761, c. 40–49; Vol. 768, c. 48–54.]

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he is aware of the difficulties being experienced by laundries in Scotland as a result of the incidence of Selective Employment Tax; and, in view of the importance of laundries to the tourist industry, especially in the Highlands, if he will seek to exempt laundries in Scotland from payment of the tax.

There is no case for singling out laundries from the many other services which are of importance to the tourist industry; nor is the effect of S.E.T. on laundries in Scotland different from that on laundries generally. The real difficulties facing the industry are discussed in the Prices and Incomes Board Report on Laundry and Dry Cleaning charges.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will give the names of the jurors appointed to give the verdict at the trial of the Pyx in February, 1968; and how these jurors were selected.

The names are as follows. The Jurors were selected by the Prime Warden and Wardens of the Goldsmiths' Company from freemen of the company in accordance with a precept issued by the Lords Commissioners under the Trial of the Pyx Order in Council 1871 as amended by the Trial of the Pyx Order of Council 1901 and the Trial of the Pyx Order 1947.Brig.-General Sir Harold Brewer Hartley,G.C.V.O., C.H., C.B.E., M.C., F.R.S.Mr. Herbert Martin Parsons, M.B.E.Dr. Walter Godfrey Allen.Mr. Charles Stanley Padgett.Sir Owen Haddon Wansbrough-Jones, K.B.E.,C.B.Mr. John White Isaac.Mr. Francis Ivan Tarratt.Mr. Norman Alfred Vanderpump.Professor Robert Yorke Goodden, C.B.E.Mr. John Richard Abbey.Professor George Wesley Austin, O.B.E.Sir John Charrington.Sir John Herbert McCutcheon Craig,K.C.V.O., C.B.Mr. Frank Herbert Dowden.Mr. Frederic Stuart Estcourt Fawkes.Mr. John Stuart Forbes.Mr. John Forrest Hayward.Mr. Frank Buller Howard Howard-White, M.C.Mr. Arthur Philip Jenkins.Lt.-Colonel Ririd Myddelton, M.V.O.Mr. Charles Chichele Oman.Dr. John Henry Pyle Pafford.Mr. Bryan Hamersley Woods, M.B.E.Mr. David Barnes Dalladay.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what sampling inspection procedures are applied to coins produced at the Royal Mint; and if he will place a copy of the instructions given to inspectors at the Royal Mint in the Library of the House of Commons.

Tests of composition and of weight and dimensional accuracy are applied at all stages of coin production in accordance with normal engineering inspection procedures and are modified and improved from time to time. There are no comprehensive inspection instructions as such, but written instructions on particular aspects are issued as the occasion requires.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer on how many occasions since 1870 the verdict of the jury at the Trial of the Pyx shows that any of the coins inspected fell outside the prescribed limits of weight or standard fineness.

Once, in 1926.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the cost to public funds of the Trial of the Pyx held on 22nd February, 1968.

The cost to the Royal Mint of assembling the samples and of attendance at the Trial etc. is of the order of £700 per annum. No charge is made by the Goldsmiths' Company for their part in the Trial.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what purpose is served by the Trial of the Pyx, which is not covered by inspection procedures at the Royal Mint.

It provides an independent outside check, by the expert members and staff of the Goldsmiths' Company, on the accuracy of the work of the Royal Mint.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will seek to amend the Coinage Act, 1870, so as to abolish the Trial of the Pyx.

I see no reason to abolish an arrangement which provides an independent outside check on the Royal Mint's standards at small cost to the Exchequer.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will now give details of the scheme offered to Singapore and other foreign sterling holders to safeguard their balances; what has been the response; and if he will make a statement.

I have nothing to add to my statement of 8th July.—[Vol. 768, c. 48–9.]

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many exiles or refugees from Southern Rhodesia, South Africa and South-West Africa, respectively, are employed in all branches of Government service for which he is responsible; what proportion are within the administrative, executive, clerical and industrial grades; and whether he will make a statement.

The information which my hon. Friend requests is not readily available and I regret that it would be disproportionately expensive to collect.

asked the Minister of Power if he will institute an inquiry into the reason why a large amount of capital was approved for the National Coal Board development at Bevercoates Colliery, in view of the fact that geological factors were not favourable to continued coal production.

No. A thorough assessment of geological conditions is always made before the Board undertake a major colliery project, but it is not possible to eliminate all risk.

asked the Minister of Power if he will make a statement on the research being conducted into the production of liquid fuels and high calorific gas from coal; how much money has been devoted to this work; and how much of this has been provided by Her Majesty's Government.

Although a great deal of work has been done in the past, none is being continued in this country at present. I will write to my hon. Friend about the expenditure involved.

asked the Minister of Power if he will introduce legislation to ensure that all reports commissioned by the National Coal Board from outside organisations are made the property of Her Majesty's Government and available for discussion in the House of Commons.

No.

asked the Minister of Power if he will give details of the general directions he has issued to the National Coal Board regarding disclosure of the free on board prices of seaborne coal shipped from one United Kingdom port to another.

I have not issued any such general directions.

asked the Minister of Power, in view of the fact that the annual increase of world coal production is now running at the rate of 30 per cent., while coal production in the United Kingdom is falling at the rate of 22 per cent., if he will now revise the assumptions upon which his fuel policy is based.

No. I do not recognise my hon. Friend's figures but in any case conditions in other countries are often very different.

asked the Minister of Power in how many cases during the last five years his inspector at a public inquiry has supported the case put forward by the objector; and in how many cases such report has been confirmed by him.

It is not possible to say, because at most public inquiries there are a number of objectors with conflicting views and sometimes alternative proposals are under consideration. When an inspector has supported the case of one objector he is likely to have rejected the case of another.

asked the Minister of Power why it took him from 4th June until 2nd July to reply to the hon. Member for West Ham, North concerning matters connected with the dispute on trades union recognition with the British Steel Corporation; and whether he will publish his reply.

As I was not appointed until 1st July, this was the first date on which I could reply. I have no objection to publication of my letter.

asked the Minister of Power if he will list the nature and value of each of the obligations and debts, to the value in total of £195 million, which were re-financed by the British Steel Corporation out of Exchequer loans during 1967–68, and of further such obligations and debt that are to be refinanced during 1968–69; and if he will give the estimates for each item as budgeted for in each financial year.

The figures are as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for Commonwealth Affairs whether he will give his reasons for certifying that the case against Sir Frederick Crawford should be exempted from investigation by the Parliamentary Commissioner under paragraph 1 of Schedule 3 to the Parliamentary Commissioner Act.

The action taken against Sir Frederick Crawford was, to quote the words of my certificate, in a matter

"affecting relations and dealings between the Government of the United Kingdom and other Governments and between the Government of the United Kingdom and international organisations".

asked the Secretary of State for Commonwealth Affairs what further reports he has received of terrorists being harboured and allowed to make armed incursions into Rhodesia; and what representations he has made to discourage such activities.

I have nothing to add to the Answer I gave to the right hon. Gentleman the Member for Streatham (Mr. Sandys) on 10th July. —[Vol. 768, c. 101–102.]

asked the Minister of Health, under what Act of Parliament fluoridation is authorised.

Local health authorities are empowered to act with my approval under the National Health Service Act, 1946.

asked the Minister of Health if he has considered the circular letter sent by Messrs. Pfizer to all executive councils on the subject of terramycin prescription; and if he will advise executive councils on the action they should take in this matter.

Yes. I do not think it necessary to issue any advice to executive councils.

asked the Minister of Health what measures are being taken to ensure that those who have emigrated or permanently left the country do not remain on doctors' lists under the National Health Service.

The medical card issued to National Health Service patients and the literature issued by the Passport Office asks patients to advise their Executive Councils if they are leaving the country for more than three months. In addition, information about emigrants is obtained from the Home Office and other Government Departments. Executive Councils also carry out special checks to identify immigrants returning abroad. The measures taken are constantly under review.

asked the Minister of Health if he is aware that the National Academy of Sciences and National Research Council of the United States has caused the withdrawal of 10 per cent. of the drugs tested because they are ineffective; if he is satisfied with the efficiency of his machinery for testing the safety of drugs and evaluating them for effectiveness; and if he will make a statement.

I am aware that the National Academy of Sciences has been carrying out an evaluation of the efficacy of drugs on the market in the United States, but I understand that their report is not yet complete. I have full confidence in the Committee on Safety of Drugs and the Standing Joint Committee on the Classification of Proprietary Preparations, whose work in this country is well known. The Medicines Bill proposes that efficacy of medicinal products for the purpose for which they are promoted should be one of the matters taken into account by the Medicines Commission or an expert advisory committee.

asked the Minister of Health if he received an early warning of the increase of 10 per cent. in the price of insulin; if this increase is within the limit of Her Majesty's Government's prices and incomes policy; and if he will make a statement.

Insulin is not among the items to which early warning arrangements apply but I was notified of the proposed increase under the Voluntary Price Regulation Scheme for ethical medicines. I was satisfied that this increase, the first since 1950, was justified under the Scheme and was consistent with prices policy.

asked the Minister of Health whether he will circulate in the OFFICIAL REPORT the answer he has sent to the representations made to him by the chemists on the difficulties they were experiencing with the reintroduction of prescription charges.

The text of the letter from my Department to the Central Chemist Contractors Committee is as follows:19th July, 1968.

asked the Minister of Health if he will make regulations exempting tuberculosis sufferers from prescription charges.

asked the Minister of Health whether he will exempt from the payment of prescription charges those patients who have been discharged from mental hospitals and who need regular prescriptions for drugs to enable them to live a normal life in the community.

I would refer the hon. Members to what I said on 10th July when considering the Lords Amendments to the Health Services and Public Health Bill.—[Vol. 768, c. 695.]

asked the Minister of Health whether, in view of the Government's policy of balancing Great Britain's trading account by the end of the year, he will end prescription charges, which were introduced as part of that policy during the current year.

No. It would be unrealistic to suppose that need for the revenue from these charges has come to an end.

asked the Minister of Health what recognition is to be given in the National Health Service to holders of the Certificate and Diploma in Mortuary Hygiene and Technology; and whether any supplementary weekly payment awarded will be back dated to the time of the decision of the Ancillary Staff Council.

The Ancillary Staffs Council have agreed that holders of the Certificate should be paid an allowance of 11s. 0d. a week from 1st September, 1968.

asked the Minister of Health if he will order a countrywide investigation by the Public Health Laboratory Service aimed at augmenting the research into the bacteriological quality of dairy creams already carried out by the laboratories in Birmingham, Worcester, Truro and Gloucester.

We await the outcome of current discussions between the Public Health Laboratory Service and the trade about the evaluation of tests for bacteriological quality of cream.

asked the Minister of Health why an invalid car, issued by him to a disabled person, has been awaiting repair at Hartley's Garage, Cantley, since December last; and if he will take steps to remove the cause of delays of this kind which are common in the Don-caster area.

Repair facilities in the Don-caster area have been satisfactory except during a recent shortage of labour that has now been overcome. A vehicle is lent to a patient while his own is under repair.

asked the Minister of Health how many geriatric patients are awaiting beds in Wales; and how long they have to wait.

Four hundred and seventeen geriatric and chronic sick patients were awaiting beds at 31st March, 1968. I regret that information about waiting time is not available.

asked the Minister of Health if, in view of the difficulties being encountered by doctors in the North-East in dealing with casualties arising from underwater activities, he will arrange for a decompression chamber to be sited in a hospital in the North-East.