asked the Minister for the Civil Service what are the rates of pay received by women employed by Government Departments as industrial civil servants; and what rates are paid to men doing similar work.

As the answer is too long and detailed for publication in the OFFICIAL REPORT, I am writing to the hon. Member. Broadly, however, women engaged on work, on which both men and women are employed, receive 85 per cent. of the men's rates.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what requests he has received from Manchester Local Education Authority to accept tenders other than the lowest for a number of schools in the building programme; and if he will make a statement.

None. As I told my hon. Friend the Member for Manchester, Gorton (Mr. Marks) on 30th January, if and when any such requests are made I will consider them closely.—[Vol. 776, c. 359.]

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many grants, totalling what sum, have been paid to Welsh fishing clubs under the Physical Training and Recreation Act 1937.

Ten grants have been offered to fishing clubs in Wales, amounting to £23,051, of which £19,852 have been paid to date. Additionally, applications from seven fishing clubs are at present under consideration.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what grants have been paid by the Arts Council in recent years to the North-West Arts Association, the Scottish Arts Council and the Welsh Arts Council; what estimate has been made of the grants to be paid in 1969–70; and if he will make a statement.

The North-West Arts Association first received a grant from the Arts Council in 1967–68. The figures are as follows, though the grants to the North-West Arts Association are of course only a very small part of the total funds made available by the Arts Council in that area:

	North west Arts Association	Scottish Arts Council	Welsh Arts Council
	£	£	£
1967–68	6,000	707,700	448,000
1968–69	10,000	795,000*	512,500*
1969–70 (present allocations)	24,000	772,000†	503,000†
* The figures may still be increased by further capital grants before the close of the financial year.
† These are revenue allocations and do not include capital grants which are decided during the year.

The Arts Council hope to be able to find additional funds for the North-West Arts Association in the course of 1969–70.

EXPENDITURE BY PUBLIC AUTHORITIES * FINANCIAL YEAR 1967–68
				(£ million)
	Capital Expenditure†	Teaching Staff Salaries‡	Other Current Expenditure§	Grants to Students
1. Universities (Great Britain)	81·8	72·0||	83·9||	52·6
2 Colleges of Education (England and Wales)	9·6	21·9	29·7¶	20·7
3. Establishments of Further Education (England and Wales)	41·5	113·3	49·3	27·1
NOTES:
* Department of Education and Science and Local Education Authorities in England and Wales: in addition, for universities, the University Grants Committee, the Scottish Education Department and Education Authorities in Scotland.
† Met from revenue and loans.
‡ Including employers' superannuation and national insurance contributions.
§ Including salaries and wages of non-teaching staff and other running costs.
║| Estimated expenditure by public authorities listed in note *.
¶ Including the cost of providing board and lodging (which, for universities and further education, forms part of expenditure on grants to students).

asked the Secretary of State for Employment and Productivity if she has been informed of the wage claim covering 1,600 foremen and other supervisors employed by British-Leyland; and what is the estimated percentage increase in rates and earnings arising from this claim.

I understand that an agreement on the pay of foremen and supervisory staff is being negotiated between The British Motor Corporation Ltd., and the Association of Scientific,

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) what is the total annual cost on capital and current account, excluding grants and awards to students and salaries of staff, of maintaining universities, colleges of education, polytechnics and other institutions of higher and further education, respectively;(2) what is the present annual cost of grants and awards to students and of salaries of staff, at universities, colleges of education, polytechnics and other institutions of higher and further education, respectively.

The information is as follows:Technical and Management Staffs. The company has not yet notified this to my Department for assessment against the requirements of incomes policy.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment and Productivity what is the estimated percentage increase in rates, earnings and productivity arising from the pay increase announced by Massey Ferguson for clerical workers at Perkins Engines Limited; and what has been the estimated annual percentage increase in productivity of these employees during the past three years.

This settlement provides for a salary increase of 5 per cent. for all Massey Ferguson clerical staff employees including those employed at Perkins Engines Ltd., Peterborough. The company is providing further information to enable my Department to assess the settlement against the requirements of incomes policy.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment and Productivity if she has now been notified of the settlement concluded between Perkins Engines Limited and their 6,500 manual workers; what is the estimated percentage increase in rates, earnings and productivity arising therefrom; and whether the settlement is in addition to the national engineering award recently concluded.

The recent settlement concluded at Perkins Engines Ltd. related to a dispute over the use of work study and was not related to pay. Discussions are still continuing about a new pay agreement.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment and Productivity if Rolls-Royce has now submitted the pay award to clerical staff; what is the estimated percentage increase in rates, earnings and productivity arising therefrom; what tests of productivity have been applied to this settlement; and how prospective productivity increases measure against productivity improvements recorded over the past two years.

The Answer to the first part of the Question is "No". I cannot therefore add anything to the reply I gave to the hon. Member on 28th January.—[Vol. 776, c. 307–8.]

asked the Secretary of State for Employment and Productivity what settlement has now been reached in the industrial dispute involving joiners at Lithgows to which she referred on 27th January; and what estimated percentage increase in rates, earnings, and productivity is expected from the settlement.

A contract scheme of working has been introduced by which increased earnings can be achieved in return for increased productivity. There has been no increase in the guaranteed basic rates. The extent of the increased earnings achieved will be directly related to the increase in productivity.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment and Productivity whether she will now introduce legislation to provide a wage of £15 now that she has accepted the principle of equal pay for women; and if she will make a statement.

No. My Department will, however, shortly be publishing a report on the cost and implications of a minimum earnings guarantee.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the cost to Cornwall of raising vehicle licences for private cars to £30 or £35 and corresponding increases for other types of vehicle; and what this cost would represent per adult in Cornwall and the United Kingdom.

£·45 million and £·9 million respectively for private cars and £·2 million and £·4 million respectively for other vehicles. Per head of the adult population an increase of 20 per cent. in all licence duties would represent £2·3 for Cornwall and £2 for the whole United Kingdom. An increase of 40 per cent. would double these figures.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the total revenue from the issuing of vehicle licences in 1968 in Cornwall; and what this represented per adult in Cornwall and the United Kingdom.

Total revenue from vehicle licences in Cornwall was £2·8 million in 1968 and represented £9·9 per head of the adult population in Cornwall compared with £8·9 in the United Kingdom as a whole.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the proportion of average revenue per head which would be represented by a vehicle licence fee of £30 for private cars in Cornwall and the United Kingdom respectively.

£9·2 per head of the adult population in Cornwall and £7·8 in the whole United Kingdom, a proportion of just under 1.2 to 1.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the estimated cost during the last financial year, and how much police time was spent, in bringing maintenance defaulters who are found in the jurisdiction of another court to the court which issued the warrant.

I regret that this information is not available.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will introduce legislation to enable a maintenance defaulter to be brought before and dealt with by the magistrates' court in whose jurisdiction he is found.

This proposal, which would involve amendment of the Magistrates' Courts Rules, will be considered in connection with a forthcoming review of the Magistrates' Courts Rules.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will introduce legislation to amend Section 17 of the Maintenance Orders Act, 1958, to permit maintenance payments to be apportioned between current payments and arrears in cases where a suspended committal order is in force instead of all current payments being set off against past arrears;(2) if he will introduce legislation to repeal Section 74(8) of the Magistrates' Courts Act, 1958, because of the accounting difficulties it creates and its ineffectiveness in recovering arrears of maintenance; and if he will make a statement.

These proposals will be considered when a suitable opportunity for legislation occurs.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department why details of the release of Ronald Avard from Rampton were given to the Press before they were given to the hon. Member for Rugby.

The decision to discharge Mr. Avard was taken on 24th February. A letter informing my hon. Friend was signed the same day and arrangements were made for its delivery to the House of Commons by hand early on the morning of 25th February. The statement to the Press was issued on the evening of 25th February, and Mr. Avard was discharged from hospital the following day.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many members of the Metropolitan Police are to assist at the investiture of the Prince of Wales on 1st July; and what costs will fall on the police rate for Greater London.

I would refer my hon. Friend to the Answer I gave to a Question by the hon. Member for Carmarthen (Mr. Gwynfor Evans) on 29th January.—[Vol. 776, c. 347–8.]

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will obtain a report from the Chief Constable as to what provision, in view of Police Constable Moore's death while on duty in dangerous circumstances, is being made for his widow and four children both in terms of immediate compensation and pension.

A widow's special pension and children's special allowances are payable to the dependants of police constable Moore under the provisions of the Police Pensions Regulations relating to dependants of officers who die in the performance of their duty. They are also entitled to benefit under social security legislation.The Lancashire police authority are to send me details of the benefits which are payable in this tragic case and I shall write to my hon. Friend when I have received them.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will obtain a report from the Chief Constable as to whether an inquiry is to be held into the death on 11th February, 1969, of Police Constable Stanley Moore of the Lancashire Constabulary's team of frogmen whilst engaged on diving operations on the River Mersey.

The chief constable is conducting a thorough investigation into Police Constable Moore's death, but the report cannot be completed until the body has been recovered. When I receive the report I will write to my hon. Friend.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many clubs have made application to the Gaming Board for certificates of consent under the Gaming Act, 1968.

2,415; of which 631 were for general gaming and 1,784 for bingo only. These may not be the final totals, since the Board is still in correspondence with some potential applicants.

asked the Postmaster-General why notices are displayed in Worthing telephone call-boxes stating that the charge for local telephone calls has not been increased, in view of the fact that there has been an increase of 25 per cent.

Notices showing the telephone charges introduced from 1st October, 1968, are being displayed in kiosks until a directory with the new charge information is available in the area concerned.There was no increase in the charges for local calls from kiosks on 1st October but in Worthing the coinboxes are being changed in connection with the conversion of the exchange to automatic working with S.T.D. The minimum charge for a call from an S.T.D. coinbox is 6d.; this is an increase for kiosk users in Worthing and in these special circumstances the notice is misleading. I am grateful to the hon. Member for drawing attention to this matter; the notices have been amended.

asked the Postmaster-General which firms were behind schedule in supplying telephone equipment as at 27th February; and if he will state the reasons given by the firms for the delay, and the nature and value of each contract delayed.

All our major suppliers of exchange equipment are behind schedule because of the difficulty of suddenly increasing a balanced output of this very complex plant; but they have more than doubled their output in two years, and delays are now starting to diminish. It would be contrary to established practice to give details of individual contracts.

asked the Minister of Power if he will outline the programme of converting consumers' equipment to supply natural gas by areas.

The main conversion programme began last year in seven area boards (Southern, North Thames, Eastern, East Midlands, West Midlands, North Western and North Eastern). Three (South Eastern, Northern and Wales) plan to start this year, and two (South Western and Scottish) next year. Boards' programmes vary from 5 to 10 years in length. Specific programmes for each board are announced, as they become firm, by the board chairman.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence why the pay and conditions of service of the Royal Navy are now being put in the hands of the National Board for Prices and Incomes.

The National Board for Prices and Incomes were instructed on 2nd November, 1967, "to keep under continuous review, the pay and allowances" of all members of the Armed Forces, including the Royal Navy. I explained the reasons for this during this week's defence debate.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what was the total capital cost of facilities provided at Rosyth Dockyard to make it suitable for refitting nuclear submarines.

The total capital cost of providing nuclear submarine refitting facilities in H.M. Dockyard Rosyth is estimated at approximately £5·1 million.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland, in view of the increasing pressure on the inadequate accommodation of the Glasgow Sheriff Court and the inconvenience and delays caused to administrators, and witnesses, both civil and police, when a decision can be expected on the financing of new building approved in principle in 1964; and if he will make a statement.

The planning of the new sheriff court house in Glasgow, for which I gave approval in January, 1965, is the responsibility of the Glasgow Court House Commissioners. Under the existing legislation the cost of the new building falls to be shared equally between the central Government and the Commissioners. I have no power to vary this arrangement nor can I anticipate what decision Parliament will take on the recommendation of the Grant Committee that the whole cost of providing new court houses should fall on the central Government.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many farm amalgamation schemes have been carried out under the terms of the Agriculture Act, 1967; how many farms have been involved; how much compensation has been paid; how many schemes are under consideration; and how many have been rejected.

By 31st January, 1969, 23 amalgamations involving 24 outgoers had been formally approved and £10,912 paid in grants to outgoers. Information is not available about the number of amalgamations actually carried out or the number of farms involved. Three hundred and ninety-two amalgamation proposals were under consideration of which 186 had been approved in principle; and 78 proposals had been rejected or withdrawn.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will obtain from the chief constable concerned a report of the weekly expenditure now incurred in the paying of the Ayrshire Police at the office of the burgh of Ayr; and what new office equipment has been bought for this purpose.

I have been informed by the police authority that the cost of paying the Ayrshire police is estimated to be in the region of £70 each week and that an additional cash register accounting machine has been purchased at a cost of £3,000.

asked the President of the Board of Trade how many applications for industrial development certificates have been received since 1st January, 1968, from companies wishing to expand in Crawley; and how many have been granted.

In the period from 1st January, 1968 to 31st January, 1969, five industrial development certificates were issued for the Crawley Employment Exchange area and three were refused.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will call for an interim report from the Crowther Committee on consumer credit in view of the recent increase in Bank Rate to 8 per cent.

No. I do not think that changes in Bank Rate have any direct bearing on the issues which the Committee is considering.

asked the President of the Board of Trade how many bankruptcies

Number of Bankruptcies	1968	1967	1966	1965	1964	1963
Total	3,926	4,029	3,706	3,404	3,359	3,968
Agriculture	189	230	241	229	217	287
Extractive Industries	21	21	18	18	17	31
Manufacturing Industries	349	377	301	293	362	380
Building and Contracting	963	992	900	739	700	822
Transport and Communications	324	337	278	249	274	368
Distributive Trades	896	899	919	929	1,005	1,241
Directors and Promoters of Companies	230	272	217	165	145	102
Professional, Business and miscellaneous services	705	680	629	582	524	614
Public Administration and Defence	21	18	13	10	8	21
No Occupation	196	151	122	144	84	66
Occupation Unknown	32	52	68	46	23	36

asked the Minister of Transport when he will lay the regulations providing for the reduction of drivers' hours as set out in the Transport Act, 1968.

I have at present nothing to add to the reply I gave to the hon. Member on 3rd February.—[Vol. 777, c. 18.]

asked the Minister of Transport what inquiries he has made into the effect which the proposed reduction of drivers' hours will have on the availability of parking space for drivers of goods vehicles.

None, but we are in touch with the Transport Catering and Accommodation Joint Committee of the road transport industry about general parking and accommodation problems.

asked the Minister of Transport what proposals he has for amending speed limits on motorways; and what is his estimate of the approximate cost of replacing the present signs.

The following is the information:

I would refer my hon. Friend to the statement I made on speed limit policy on 5th March. The estimated cost of converting motorway speed limit signs to the metric system in 1973 is just under £3,500.—[Vol. 779, c. 420–422.]

asked the Minister of Transport what modifications are now to be made to the design of automatic half-barrier level crossings in light of the report of the industrial design experts who were invited to review these crossings following the publication of the Hixon Report.

The traffic signs recommended by the design consultant will be put up as soon as they can be made available.I propose to announce the full details at the time when the changes are made.

asked the Minister of Transport how the subsidy to be paid for the current year on the Machynlleth-Pwllheli railway line is to be apportioned between operating costs and general maintenance and improvements.

The grant is calculated as follows:

		£ thousands
Movement costs	…	101
Terminal costs	…	31
Track and Signalling costs	…	226
Interest and Administration	…	45
	…	403
Less Earnings	…	66
Grant for 1969	…	337

The movement, terminal and track and signalling cost figures include provision for general maintenance and renewals but do not distinguish between these and operating costs.

asked the Secretary of State for Economic Affairs whether the terms region and regional used in "The Task Ahead", as in chapter 9, refer to Wales and Scotland as well as to the English regions.

Chapter 9 of "The Task Ahead" relates to all parts of the United Kingdom.

asked the Secretary of State for Economic Affairs on how many occasions and in which regions, have local or central staff of the Bank of England attended meetings of regional economic planning councils or regional planning boards.

None.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on the recommendations in the report by Professor Britton on Cereals Marketing in the United Kingdom published by the Home Grown Cereals Authority.

The report which Professor Britton has made to the Authority and which was published on 20th February contains a number of far-reaching recommendations which will call for careful study not only by the Government but also by the Authority itself and the various interests concerned with the production, distribution and processing of home grown cereals. My right hon. Friend is not in a position to make a statement at this stage.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will estimate the extra cost to farmers in a full year caused by the recent rise in Bank Rate.

The extra cost in a full year of credit from banks for current farming purposes would be about £2½ million on Review products and about £¾ million on other products.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works if he will state the name of the manufacturers of the small television sets which have been installed as annunciators in a number of rooms in the Palace of Westminster; and why they frequently fail to work properly.

The sets have been supplied by Rediffusion Industrial Services Ltd. to the specification laid down by my Department. The discussions with the firm to which I referred in my reply to the hon. Member on 3rd February, 1969—[Vol. 777, c. 57–2]—were held on 17th February. It emerged that the poor performance of the sets was due to faulty components both in the sets and in the transmission apparatus. I am satisfied that the firm has been and still is taking energetic steps to rectify these faults and, in fact, there has been a marked fall in the failure rate over the last few weeks. While occasional failures are to be expected with this kind of electronic equipment, the firm is confident that they will shortly be able to maintain a high standard of service.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government who are the current chairmen and directors of the National Building Agency; by whom they were recommended; what are their qualifications; and what fees they receive.

Appointments are made by the Minister of Housing and Local Government and the Secretaries of State for Scotland and Wales acting jointly. The names, qualifications, and fees of the chairman, deputy chairman and directors are as follows:

	£
General The Lord Bourne, G.C.B., K.B.E., C.M.G., Chairman (part-time) (appointed March, 1964)	4,000 p.a.
Mr. John Bedford, O.B.E. (Chairman, Debenham's Ltd.) Deputy Chairman (part-time) (appointed March, 1964)	500 p.a.
Mr. A. W. Cleeve Barr, F.R.I.B.A. (Architect), Managing Director (full-time) (appointed March, 1964)	6,300 p.a.
Mr. H. Brummitt, O.B.E. (Clerk of the Seaton Valley Urban District Council) (appointed July, 1966) Director (part-time)	500 p.a.
Mr. H. J. Cruickshank, C.B.E., C.Eng., M.I.Mech.E., F.I.O.B. (Chairman, Gilbert-Ash Limited) (appointed July, 1967) Director (part-time)	500 p.a.
Mr. Peter Dunican, M.I.C.E., M.I.Struct.E. (Consulting Engineer) (appointed March, 1964) Director (part-time)	500 p.a.
Mr. Victor Feather, C.B.E. (Acting General Secretary, T.U.C.) (appointed March, 1964) Director (part-time)	500 p.a.
Mr. W. Sinclair Gauldie, F.R.I.B.A., P.P.R.I.A.S. (Architect) (appointed March, 1964) Director (part-time)	500 p.a.
Mr. S. Johnson-Marshall, C.B.E., B.Arch., F.R.I.B.A. (Architect) (appointed March, 1964) Director (part-time)	500 p.a.
Mr. David Llewellyn, F.I.O.B. (Managing Director, Walter Llewellyn and Sons, Ltd.) (appointed February, 1968) Director (part-time)	500 p.a.
Dr. J. W. Macfarlane, D.L., J.P., Ph.D., Wh.Sc, C.Eng., F.I.E.E., F.I.Mech.E., F.R.S.E. (Convener, Renfrew C.C.) (appointed March, 1964) Director (part-time)	500 p.a.
Alderman J. B. Maudsley, C.B.E. (Solicitor. Alderman, Maidenhead Borough Council) (appointed March, 1964) Director (part-time)	500 p.a.
Mr. L. C. Patterson, F.R.J.C.S., F.I.Arb. (Quantity Surveyor) (appointed July, 1967) Director (part-time)	500 p.a.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government what functions, other than the appraisal of industrialised building systems, are currently undertaken by the National Building Agency.

The main functions of the Agency continue to be as described in the statement in the House of 9th June, 1967 of which I am sending the hon. Member a copy.In Scotland the Agency is also assisting the Scottish Education Department in the co-ordination of programmes for the building of residential school hostels and for extensions to school buildings.In Northern Ireland the Agency is also carrying out, in conjunction with the appropriate Ministries, management consultancy work for Government Departments and New Towns, and certain hospital programmes.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government if he will seek to repeal Part VI of the General Rate Act, 1967, and so provide for rates to be recovered in the county court as a civil debt and not in the magistrates' court.

Not at present, but I am aware that the Committee on the Enforcement of Judgment Debts has recommended that jurisdiction for the recovery of rates should be transferred to the county courts as part of a comprehensive new system for enforcing civil debts. The recommendations as a whole are now being studied by the Government.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government what financial contribution the Government are making to the defence works against soil erosion being carried out in an emergency situation by the Great Yarmouth County Borough Council at Gorleston-on-Sea.

The amount of Exchequer contribution towards these works will be determined following the receipt of the report by an engineering inspector who will be visiting Gorleston-on-Sea on 14th March, and when a firm estimate of cost has been provided.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government if he has now decided whether the pay settlement for manual workers in the water supply industry is consistent with Government policy; what has been the percentage increase in productivity of these workers over the past two years; and what is the expected change arising from this settlement.

The industry was informed on 4th February that there would be no objection under incomes policy to a pay increase for manual workers of 3½d. an hour.It is not possible on the available information to make any precise calculation of increased productivity, but a representative sample of undertakings shows that during the last year there was a significant improvement in output per man-hour—possibly as much as 8 or 9 per cent.Whilst the settlement was not dependent upon future increases in productivity, my right hon. Friend has made it clear to the industry that he is hoping for a further productivity increase.