asked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will publish a breakdown of the £70 million of foreign exchange spent by his Department in Malaysia and Singapore showing how much is spent by each of the three Services and how much on common services.

The breakdown of this expenditure between the Services is as follows:

			1968–69 £ million (estimate)
Royal Navy	…	…	23
Army	…	…	29
Royal Air Force	…	…	18

The cost of common services cannot be isolated.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what is the estimated cost of providing nuclear refit facilities at Devon port in the late 1970s; and how this compares with the £6 million spent on similar facilities at Chatham.

I have nothing to add to the answer given to my hon. Friend the Member for Bebington (Mr. Brooks) on 10th March.—[Vol. 779, c. 231–2.]

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he proposes to implement Recommendation No. 551 on tax on value added, which was adopted by the Consultative Assembly of the Council of Europe on 31st January, 1969; and whether he will seek to adopt a form of a tax on value added as put forward in paragraph 10 of this recommendation

The recommendation adopted by the Consultative Assembly for submission to the Committee of Ministers is that member States which do not yet have the tax on value added system be invited

"to seek to examine the possibility of adopting a form of the tax".

The Richardson Committee on Turnover Taxation made such an examination a few years ago, and the possibility was also examined by the N.E.D.C. recently.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what advice he has given to the banks with regard to credit facilities for small businesses to enable them to increase production for exports; and what has been the response.

In the guidance given by the authorities, the banks are asked to give priority within the ceiling to requests by all credit-worthy borrowers for finance for production and investment to sustain increased exports.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the internal purchasing power of the £ sterling for each successive year since 1914, taking 20s. as the figure for 1914.

The figures are given in the table below. They are based on movements in the cost of living index up to 1938 and on the consumer price index from 1938 2to 1967, with a provisional figure for 1968 based on the index of retail prices. In view of the need to link different price series and of the considerable changes in the pattern of consumers' expenditure over this long period, the figures given should be regarded as giving only an approximate indication of the movements.

				s.	d.
1914	…	…	…	20	0
1915	…	…	…	16	4
1916	…	…	…	13	8
1917	…	…	…	11	5
1918	…	…	…	9	11
1919	…	…	…	9	4
1920	…	…	…	8	0
1921	…	…	…	8	10
1922	…	…	…	10	11
1923	…	…	…	11	6
1924	…	…	…	11	5
1925	…	…	…	11	5
1926	…	…	…	11	7
1927	…	…	…	11	11
1928	…	…	…	12	0
1929	…	…	…	12	2
1930	…	…	…	12	8
1931	…	…	…	13	7
1932	…	…	…	13	11
1933	…	…	…	14	4
1934	…	…	…	14	2
1935	…	…	…	14	0

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what formula he uses to calculate the gross national product; and what changes in this formula have been made in recent years.

I would refer the hon. Member to the book recently issued by the Central Statistical Office "National Accounts Statistics: Sources and Methods", a copy of which is in the Library. A general account of the gross national product and its relation to other aggregates is given in the first chapter of this book and more detailed description of the methods used is in the third chapter.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer in what circumstances where a charitable deed of covenant, executed by a close company, is allowable under Section 52 of the Finance Act, 1965, against profits for Corporation, Tax purposes and against profits under Section 77 of the same Act for apportionment as to Income Tax, it is the practice of the Inland Revenue to make an apportionment of the money paid under the deed of covenant according to Section 78 of the Act as to Surtax.

In all circumstances, unless the effect of the apportionment would be trivial.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he proposed to implement Recommendation No. 548 on the programme of action relating to human rights after the International Human Rights Year 1968, which was adopted by the Consultative Assembly of the Council of Europe on 30th January, 1969; and whether he will take action, in particular on Chapter III relating to measures to be taken at national level.

This recommendation is still under study by the Committee of Ministers.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress has been made by Her Majesty's Government in consultations with other Governments regarding Recommendation No. 547 on the situation in Greece, which was adopted by the Consultative Assembly of the Council of Europe on 30th January, 1969.

We have had a useful exchange of views with other Governments and we are remaining in touch with them on this question.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he is taking to implement sub-paragraph (a) of paragraph 11(ii) of Recommendation No. 516 on the function and future of the Council of Europe, which was adopted by the Consultative Assembly of that Council on 1st February, 1968; and whether Her Majesty's Government will agree to the proposal for rationalising the system of the Council of Europe for intergovernmental co-operation, by linking technical Ministerial conferences with existing executive organs.

The Committee of Ministers, in the reply it sent to the Assembly last January, while recognising the desirability of giving impetus to the Conference of technical Ministers, made clear its own view that it is for the Committee of Ministers to act as co-ordinator.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will instruct the United Kingdom representative at the Committee of Ministers' Deputies of the Council of Europe to move to secure the implementation of paragraphs 10(a), (b) and (c) of Resolution No. 400 on the general policy of the Council which was adopted by the Consultative Assembly on 29th January, 1969.

This resolution is still under consideration by the Committee of Ministers.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will instruct the United Kingdom permanent representative at the Committee of Ministers' Deputies of the Council of Europe to move to secure the implementation of paragraph 5 of Resolution No. 393 in reply to the report of the Third European Space conference which was adopted by the Consultative Assembly on 27th January, 1969.

No. This resolution is still under consideration by the Committee of Ministers.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will instruct the United Kingdom respresentative at the Committee of Ministers' Deputies of the Council of Europe to move to secure the implementation of paragraphs 5 and 6 of Resolution No. 398 of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development at New Delhi, which was adopted by the Consultative Assembly on 28th January, 1969.

The resolution is still under study by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe. Her Majesty's Government supported the recommendations adopted by the New Delhi United Nations Conference on Trade and Development Conference calling for tariff preferences for developing countries, a scheme for supplementary financial measures, and an aid target of 1 per cent. of Gross National Product. Our policy on each of them has been stated in this House on various occasions. International discussions in which we are actively involved, are continuing on tariff preferences and on supplementary financial measures. We cannot be specific about the year in which we shall fulfil the new aid target. It depends upon the progress we make in dealing with the balance of payments problem, and this was recognised at New Delhi when we committed ourselves to using our best endeavours to reach the new target as soon as economic circumstances permitted.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will instruct the United Kingdom representative at the Committee of Ministers' deputies of the Council of Europe to move to secure the implementation of Resolution No. 406 on the ratification of the European Convention on Establishment, which was adopted by the Assembly on 31st January, 1969; and whether he will ratify the convention before the end of 1969.

Her Majesty's Government have taken note of resolution No. 406 calling on member States to ratify the Convention on Establishment. The question is still under consideration.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is his policy regarding the sale of arms to Greece.

I would refer my hon. Friend to my reply to the hon. Member for Croydon, South (Mr. Winnick) on 13th March.—[Vol. 779, c. 352.]

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the number of British citizens serving prison sentences for criminal offences in Spain; and how many have served the whole of their sentence or have had it reduced on an appeal.

Fourteen United Kingdom citizens are currently serving prison sentences in Spain. None of these has yet completed his full sentence and none of their sentences has yet been reduced on appeal. To the best of my knowledge six pleas for clemency have been submitted to the Head of the Spanish State.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether Her Majesty's Government will propose or support action taken at the United Nations to protect the future of Indian peoples in South America.

Our attitude towards action at the United Nations on this subject would depend on the case that was presented for it. I do not consider that it would be helpful for Her Majesty's Government to take the initiative in raising at the United Nations a matter which so closely concerns the responsibilities of South American Governments.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will list the universities in Great Britain, showing the number of undergraduates in each in October, 1968, and also giving a list of the faculties in each university.

The provisional numbers of full-time students at undergraduate level at the beginning of the academic year 1968–69 is as follows:

University or College	Full-time students at undergraduate level
Aston	2,289
Bath	1,636
Birmingham	5,088
Bradford	2,736
Bristol	5,021
Brunel	1,343
Cambridge	8,282
City	2,112
Durham	2,645
East Anglia	1,925
Essex	1,186
Exeter	2,635
Hull	3,220
Keele	1,634
Kent	1,726
Lancaster	1,655
Leeds	7,083
Leicester	2,597
Liverpool	5,236
London Business School	—
London University	23,021
Loughborough	1,850
Manchester Business School	—
Manchester University	6,453
University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology	2,278
Newcastle	4,582
Nottingham	3,921
Oxford	7,701
Reading	3,787
Salford	2,911
Sheffield	4,635
Southampton	3,269
Surrey	1,887
Sussex	2,778
Warwick	1,314
York	1,598
TOTAL ENGLAND	132,034
Aberystwyth, University College	1,917
Bangor, University College	1,934
Cardiff, University College	2,660
Swansea, University College	2,830
Welsh National School of Medicine	305
St. David's, Lampeter	254
University of Wales Institute of Science and Technology	1,448
TOTAL WALES	11,348
Aberdeen	4,526
Dundee	2,149
Edinburgh	7,854
Glasgow	6,969
Heriot-Watt	1,758
St. Andrews	2,155
Stirling	289
Strathclyde	4,446
TOTAL SCOTLAND	30,146
TOTAL GREAT BRITAIN	173,528

Not all universities are organised into faculties. The academic structure of

asked the Secretary of State for Employment and Productivity if she will include in the legislation arising from the proposals contained in the White Paper, Command Paper No. 3888, provisions for the publication and exhibition of all insurance policies contracted between the employer and insurer thereby enabling employees to be satisfied that they are adequately protected.

No.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment and Productivity if she will make a further statement on the progress of negotiations with a view to a settlement of the dispute at Fords.

Following the breakdown of talks at my Department earlier this week, my right hon. Friend is having discussions with representatives of the company this evening and tomorrow she is meeting leaders of some of the unions involved.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will introduce regulations prescribing the colours of electrical core wiring; and, in view of the danger of having more than one set of colouring, by what date he intends the international code to be standard.

The Electrical Appliances (Colour Code) Regulations were made on 10th March and will be laid before Parliament on 17th March. They require that, from 1st July this year, the cores of three-core flexes fitted to domestic electrical appliances on sale in Great Britain shall be coloured in accordance with the new international colour code: brown for live, blue for neutral and a combination of green and yellow for earth. No other combination of colours will be permitted, except that until 1st July, 1970, flexes coloured in accordance with the old British Standard colour code may continue to be fitted.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he

TABLE I
NUMBERS OF OFFENCES OF DRUNKENNESS OF WHICH PERSONS UNDER 18 WERE FOUND GUILTY
Year				Males	Females	Total
1963	…	…	…	1,478	88	1,566
1964	…	…	…	1,775	77	1,852
1965	…	…	…	1,810	97	1,907
1966	…	…	…	1,772	108	1,880
1967	…	…	…	1,919	129	2,048

TABLE II
NUMBERS OF OFFENCES RELATING TO SALE ETC. OF INTOXICATING LIQUOR TO PERSONS UNDER 18
		1966		1967
Offence		Number of persons proceeded against	Number of persons found guilty	Number of persons proceeded against	Number of persons found guilty
Selling, etc. intoxicating liquor to persons under 18 for consumption on the premises—section 169(1) of the Licensing Act 1964	Males	167	113	129	87
	Females	73	52	54	35
Licence holder knowingly delivering intoxicating liquor to a person under 18 for consumption off the premises—section 169(5) of the Licensing Act 1964	Males	112	10	8	8
	Females	2	—	4	2
Persons under 18 buying or consuming intoxicating liquor in licensed premises—section 169(2) of the Licensing Act 1964	Males	2,763	2,723	2,799	2,760
	Females	863	846	1,013	996
Purchasing intoxicating liquor for consumption by person under 18 in bar—section 169(3) of the Licensing Act 1964	Males	332	317	357	344
	Females	45	44	47	42
Sending a person under 18 for purpose of obtaining liquor—section 169(6) of the Licensing Act 1964	Males	17	17	13	12
	Females	—	—	5	5

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what are the latest figures for accidents arising

FATAL ACCIDENTS IN 1967 (PARTICULARS SUPPLIED BY THE GENERAL REGISTER OFFICE)
Conflagration	Clothing burns	Falls on to appliances	Burns by other and unspecified means	Carbon monoxide poisoning	Total number of fatalities
4	8	3	31	15	61
NON-FATAL ACCIDENTS (PARTICULARS SUPPLIED BY THE JOINT FIRE RESEARCH ORGANISATION)
In 1966, 314 persons sustained non-fatal injuries in oil-heater fires attended by Brigades.

Relevant available figures for England and Wales are set out in Tables I and II below. Figures for 1968 are not yet available, and I regret that for Table II figures for years before 1966 cannot be given except at disproportionate cost. The figures indicate an increase in drinking by persons under 18from the use of oil stoves; and how many of these accidents were fatal.

The latest available information for England and Wales is as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if, in accordance with the provisions of section 2 of the Welsh Language Act, 1967, Welsh versions of forms for use in magistrates' courts in Wales have now been prescribed.

Yes. Rules prescribing Welsh texts of some 80 forms used in magistrates' courts were made on 1st March. The rules were laid before Parliament today and will come into operation on 1st June.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether, in order to prevent further escapes from Metropolitan Police vans, he will arrange for them to have a lock which can only be opened by the police or by the driver, and also consider the building of remand centres adjacent to the major criminal trial courts.

The vehicles in question can be locked, and instructions have been given that this should be done in future. I recognise the advantages of the suggestion in the second part of the Question, but the difficulty of obtaining sites makes it impracticable in most places.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works whether he will review the arrangements for selling Prince of Wales Investiture medals and allow them to be sold by post offices to prevent profit being made by private concerns and to ensure distribution on a wider scale.

No. It is likely that by the time the medals are struck in June all will be allocated except the 1¼ inch, bright bronze medals, which will continue to be struck according to demand. These will be on sale from many of our monuments and it is possible for anyone, including retailers, to order their requirements from Spink & Son Ltd.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works whether he will state the arrangements he has made to prevent the Prince of Wales Investiture medals from being hoarded against the likelihood of their rising in value.

The allocation of medals has been so arranged that no person or dealer has been allotted sufficient medals to make hoarding worth while.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works what arrangements with regard to profits he has made with Spink & Son Limited for the sale of Prince of Wales Investiture medals.

Spink & Son Ltd. is taking a normal commercial profit on the Investiture medals it was originally agreed it would sell. In the case of those medals which were to have been sold at Ministry sites but which, because of demand, have now been allocated by Spinks, the firm has agreed to pay over the total receipts to the Ministry.

asked the Postmaster-General if the rise in the rental of division bell facilities for hon. Members from £12 14s. 3d. to £17 0s. 3d. per annum falls within the limits of the prices and incomes policy; and if he will refer this 30 per cent. price increase to the National Board for Prices and Incomes.

Increased charges for these facilities were included with other proposed changes referred to the National Board for Prices and Incomes last autumn and were acceptable to the board.

asked the Postmaster-General if he will give the total expenditure on mail services by Government Departments and other official bodies for each of the years 1961–62 to 1967–68, giving separate figures for each of those Departments whose expenditure currently exceeds £10,000.

The figures are below, except that to reduce the statement

	1961–62	1962–63	1963–64	1964–65	1965–66	1966–67	1967–68
Department	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000
Board of Trade	183	143	87	96	173	209	232
Central Office of Information	233	217	215	225	212	179	153
County Courts	130	159	144	101	182	169	205
Customs and Excise	295	247	176	185	353	327	392
Diplomatic Service Admin. Office (includes CRO and Colonial Office)	301	267	181	144	92	100	108
inland Revenue Dept.	4,145	3,468	2,987	3,393	3,868	4,141	4,082
Min. of Ag. Fish and Food	409	304	231	301	435	505	386
Min. of Defence (Air)	414	362	298	291	344	323	342
Min. of Defence	550	787	498	380	832	778	734
Min. of Defence (Navy)	317	339	252	274	273	425	411
Min. of Health	149	106	130	114	197	217	237
Min. of Health and Social Services (N. Ireland)	20	21	17	21	132	129	157
Dept. of Employment and Productivity (ex. Min. of Labour)	368	288	496	447	647	736	990
Min. of Public Buildings and Works	86	74	163	211	393	422	266
Min. of Social Security	2,632	2,192	2,120	2,412	3,095	2,836	3,696
Min. of Social Security (NAB)	568	315	408	577	420	671	701
Min. of Technology (ex Civil Aviation)	96	104	128	96	163	203	167
Min. of Transport	144	96	105	130	175	157	170
Min. of Transport (local Taxation)	197	59	49	75	137	182	170
H.M. Stationery Office	356	275	343	353	478	500	541
Savings Bank Dept	859	867	885	874	1,037	1,191	1,165
Electoral Registration	226	241	264	246	300	307	309
Total	12,678	10,931	10,177	10,946	13,938	14,707	15,614
Smaller Departments	1,173	1,178	1,169	2,159	1,472	2,279	1,713
Grand Total	13,851	12,109	11,346	13,105	15,410	16,986	17,327

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many Irish cattle were imported into Scotland during 1968; and how many of these reacted to a tuberculin test carried out after their arrival.

169,207 cattle were landed in Scotland from Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland during 1968. It is estimated that 64,000 went for immediate slaughter. For the same period, of some 16,000 imported female cattle intended for breeding purposes which were tuberculin tested after arrival, 51 reacted.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the total number of dwelling houses, shops, offices and industrial premises unoccupied in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Dundee, respectively, at the most recent convenient date, giving their gross annual value in total, the estimated yield on rates if they were occupied, the estimated proportion of rates that local authorities are entitled to collect now from them and the estimated proportion they do collect.

This information is not available.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will state the incidence of brucellosis amongst humans in 1968 in each hospital board area.

Brucellosis is not a notifiable disease, and comprehensive figures of its incidence are not available. Three hundred and twenty-five cases giving presumptive evidence of the disease were, however, diagnosed by Scottish laboratories in the five hospital regions between 1st January, 1968, and 4th January, 1969, as follows:

Northern	…	…	…	12
North-Eastern	…	…	…	206
Eastern	…	…	…	4
South-Eastern	…	…	…	16
Western	…	…	…	87
				325

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) if he will give details of the consultations he has had

DEATHS OF CHILDREN UNDER 10 YEARS OF AGE DUE TO ACCIDENTAL POISONING BY CERTAIN SOLID AND LIQUID SUBSTANCES
ENGLAND AND WALES,1963 TO 1967 INCLUSIVE
	1963	1964	1965	1966	1967
Accidental poisoning by—
Barbituric acid and derivatives (ICD * E.871)	1	2	3	2	1
Aspirin and salicylates (ICD E.872)	6	13	8	2	6
Other analgesic and soporific drugs (ICD E.874)	1	1	5	7	7
Strychnine (ICD E.876)	—	—	—	1	—
Belladonna, hyoscine and atropine (ICD E.877)	—	—	—	1	—
Other and unspecified drugs (ICD E.878)	14	12	12	11	6
Totals	22	28	28	24	20
* International Classification of Diseases, 1955.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he will make inquiries through the World Health Organisation about the practice in other countries of packing medicines in containers difficult for young children to

There have been no such consultations this year. I will make inquiries about practice in the United States.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he will publish in the OFFICIAL REPORT a table showing for each of the last convenient 12-month periods the number of children under the age of eight years who have died from poisoning as a result of inadvertently taking medicines not intended for them.

Information is not available in the form asked for, but the following table shows:open; and if he will seek powers with a view to establishing a Government factory to manufacture such containers for National Health Service medicines.

The Answer to the first part of the Question is "Yes". I do not think the establishment of a Government factory would help.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what has been the number of collisions or near misses by aircraft flying in the United Kingdom over the last 10 years; and what percentage increase or decrease this represents compared with the previous 10-year period.

In the period 1959–68 there were 16 collisions involving civil aircraft, all small aeroplanes and gliders; 122 of the incidents reported under the air miss procedure were assessed as involving a definite risk of collision. The number of collisions showed a 60 per cent. increase over the previous ten-year period; corresponding air miss figures are not available. Movements of civil aircraft increased by over three-quarters between the two periods.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if, in view of recent developments, he will now order an inquiry under the Companies Acts into the liquidation of British Eagle airline companies.

On present information I see no grounds for an inquiry by the Board of Trade under the Companies Acts, but I will consider any information which my hon. Friend may wish to put before me.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what restrictions are imposed by his regulations on the carriage of small arms and ammunition by British ships between foreign ports.

A licence is required for the export of any arms and ammunition from the United Kingdom. Otherwise no restriction is imposed on the carriage of arms and ammunition by British cargo ships, provided the requirements of the Dangerous Goods Rules governing the marking, labelling, packing and storage of explosives are complied with. Carriage of small arms ammunition as cargo by passenger ships is restricted to certain "Safety Class" types in reasonable quantity.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he has received the report of the Monopolies Commission on the supply of beer; and when it will be available to the House.

I received the Monopolies Commission's report on the supply of beer on 3rd March. It will be laid before Parliament and published as soon as possible.

asked the Minister of Transport in view of the publication of details of the acquisition of controlling interest in Sir Henry Lunn Limited, whether he will now reconsider his decision not to publish in the OFFICIAL REPORT details of these financial arrangements.

The Transport Holding Company has not published details of the financial arrangements under which it has acquired a controlling interest in Sir Henry Lunn Ltd. In these circumstances I have nothing to add to the Answer I save to my hon. Friend on 12th February.—[Vol. 777. c. 345.]

asked the Minister of Transport who are the members of his Landscape Advisory Committee, and when each of them last visited Levens Park in Westmorland.

A sub-committee of five members of the Landscape Advisory Committee visited Levens Park in May, 1963. The full membership of the Committee at that time was:

• Sir Eric Savill, K.C.V.O., C.B.E., M.C., M.A., F.R.I.C.S. (Chairman).
• Sir George Taylor, F.R.S., D.Sc, F.R.S.E., F.L.S.
• Mr. J. W. R. Adams, O.B.E., P.P.T.P.I., P.P.I.L.A.
• Sir Ralph Clarke, K.B.E., T.D., D.L., M.A. Mr. D. R. Greig, O.B.E.
• Sir George Langley-Taylor, F.R.I.B.A., F.R.I.C.S., F L.A.S., M.T.P.I., F.R.S.A., F.R.G.S
• Sir Giles Loder, Bt., F.L.S., M.A.
• The Rt. Hon. the Earl of Rosse, M.B.E., M.A., L.L.D., M.R.I.A., F.S.A.
• Mr. F. R. Waley, M.C.
• Mr. C. Williams-Ellis, C.B.E., M.C, F.R.I.B.A., M.T.P.I., F.I.L.A., J.P.

Individual visits were made by a member of the Committee after the inspection by the sub-committee.

asked the Minister of Transport what are the total receipts from Severn Bridge tolls since the opening of the bridge two and half years ago; and how receipts compare with the forecasts originally made.

About £1,780,000 up to the end of February; which is slightly in excess of the original forecasts.

asked the Minister of Transport what proportion of the plant material used annually by his Department is obtained from the nursery trade in this country; what proportion is supplied direct by the Forestry Commission; and what is purchased from sources abroad.

During the year 1967–68 the proportions were as follows:

Plants obtained from the nursery trade in this country—76 per cent.

Plans supplied by the Forestry Commission—24 per cent.

Only one purchase from abroad has been made in recent years. These were young plants, purchased in 1967, which are being grown on for eventual use over a period of years.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales whether he will indicate the number and value of rebates granted to ratepayers in the rural and urban districts of Breconshire and Radnorshire under the Rating Act, 1966, for the separate years and the same figures for the Rating (Interim Relief) Act, 1964

Under the General Rate Act, 1967 (formerly the Rating Act, 1966), 1,530 ratepayers in Breconshire and Radnorshire received rate rebates in the first half of 1966–67 and 1,605 ratepayers in the second half-year. The total amount of rebate afforded in 1966–67 was £15,168. Similar information about rate rebates for the year 1967–68 is given for each local authority in Cmnd. 3725, copies of which were sent to all hon. Members in August, 1968. The number of recipients of rate rebates in 1968–69 are not yet available but so far, the estimated rebate for the year totals £12,843.Relief to individual ratepayers under the Rating (Interim Relief) Act, 1964, totalled £41 in 1964–65 and £41 in 1965–66. No rebates were made in subsequent years.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales what estimate he has made of the volume of traffic on the A48 road between Newport and Cardiff.

About 40,000 passenger car units per 16 hour day in 1969.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales if he will take steps to set up a body in Wales which will have responsibility for all public water undertakings in Wales, and which will decide upon new water development sites and have powers to develop them, to sell the water and to invest the profits in the counties in which the water is impounded.

I have no proposal to set up a new authority with responsibility for the functions referred to in the Question.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government (1) what was the capital value of all local authority-owned land and buildings sold to private persons and companies during 1968; what was the total acreage involved; and what were the corresponding figures for 1965;(2) what was the total number of compulsory purchase orders effected by local authorities in England and Wales in 1968; what was the total capital value of land thus purchased; and what were the corresponding figures for 1965 and 1967.

The information is not available.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government what is the rate equivalent of total Exchequer grants to the county borough of Luton for the years 1964–65, 1965–66, 1966–67 and 1967–68; what is the rate equivalent of the estimated rate support grants for the

				1968–69	1969–70	Increuse
				£	£	£
East Retford Borough Council
Resources element	…	…	…	69,724	70,855	1,131
Domestic element	…	…	…	11,532	17,908	6,376
Total rate support grants	…	…	…	81,256	88,763	7,507
East Retford Rural District Council
Resources element *	…	…	…	8,968	9,477	509
Domestic element	…	…	…	11,700	18,161	6,461
Total rate support grants	…	…	…	20,668	27,638	6,970
* A significant increase in the rate product per head of population for the rural district is expected during 1969–70; this would affect the entitlement to the resources element for that year.
Comparable figures for other grants are not yet available

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government what steps he proposes to take to ensure that betterment

The information is as follows:—

Grants expressed as a rate equivalent
Year		Penny Rate Product	Total Grants		Rate Support Grants
		£	s.	d.	s.	d
1964–65	…	37,536	5	6*	—
1965–66	…	40,004	6	0*	—
1966–67	…	40,240	6	6	—
1967–68	…	41,589	9	l	—
1968–69	…	41,700 (Estimated)	—		7	6
1969–70	…	41,600 (Estimated)	—		8	4
* Excluding police grant which amounted to a rate equivalent of 5d. for 1964–65 and 6d. for 1965–66. Responsibility for the police service was transferred to the Bedfordshire and Luton Police Authority from 1st April, 1966.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government what will be the increase in the Government grants paid to Retford Borough Council and Retford Rural District Council, respectively, in the next financial year.

The latest estimates of the rate support grants for East Retford Borough Council and East Retford Rural District Council for 1968–69 and 1969–70 and the amounts of increase are as follows:levy is not payable where hardship would result.

Levy is payable only when development value accrues. The Land Commission is prepared to consider applications for payment by instalments when hardship would otherwise arise.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government what action he is taking to ensure that the provisions of Section 45 of the Land Commission Act, 1967, regarding the postponement of betterment levy are fully publicised and used.

The policy of the Land Commission is to postpone the collection of levy under Section 45 of the Land Commission Act in cases covered by the Betterment Levy (Waiver of Interest) Regulations, 1967. The policy is fully set out in a practice note which has been published in the appropriate professional journals, and I have sent the hon. Member a copy.