asked the Secretary of State for Wales when he expects to announce definite plans for the extension of the M4 motorway to Bridgend and beyond; and if he will make a statement.

My right hon. Friend hopes to make a statement very soon.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales what was the total cost of the administrative staff of the Welsh Hospital Board and its managements and committees in the year of their inception; what are the equivalent figures today; and what have been the equivalent figures in the years between 1948 and 1968.

Following are the figures:

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science on what date he received the communication from the Newham Schoolmasters' Association calling for an inquiry into the recruitment and remuneration of teachers and an overhaul of the existing negotiating machinery; and what was the nature of his reply.

My right hon. Friend received a letter from the Newham Schoolmasters' Association on 26th March. He has sent my hon. Friend a copy of the reply. I refer him also to my right hon. Friend's answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Bebington (Mr. Brooks) on 6th March, and to the hon. Members for Cambridge (Mr. Lane) and for Warwick and Leamington (Mr. Dudley Smith) on 13th March.—[Vol. 779, c. 659–60, 1533–5.]

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will introduce legislation to set up a separate University Grants Commission for Scotland and Scottish universities.

No. The University Grants Committee is fully competent to look after the interests of Scottish universities. There is no evidence known to me that the Scottish universities desire any change in the present arrangements.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what further proposals he has for Government action to ensure the ending of the 11-plus examination, including action in relation to local education authorities who are introducing banding at 11-plus; and if he will make a statement.

My right hon. Friend has already told the House that the next major Education Bill will provide that secondary education shall be non-selective. I cannot yet speak of detailed provisions.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) what is the estimated cost to his Department of courses in gliding to be held at Yorkshire Gliding Club, Sutton Bank, North Riding, from 25th to 31st May, and at the Yorkshire Gliding Club, Sutton Bank, North Riding, from 27th July to 2nd August;

The four courses on gliding arranged for 1969 are run in conjunction with the Air League, which has generously undertaken to defray the full costs of tuition, estimated to average about £150 a course. The courses are open to teachers in secondary schools, lecturers in further education establishments or colleges of education and leaders in the Youth Service. Twelve applicants are accepted for each course.Apart from the cost of the salaries, subsistence and travelling of Her Majesty's Inspectors concerned, no costs fall on the Department. Teachers attending courses pay £10 to £12 for their food and accommodation and may be reimbursed for such expenses and necessary travel at the discretion of their employers. The extent of such reimbursement by authorities is not known.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will introduce legislation to provide that universities shall not discriminate against female applicants on the ground of sex.

I see no need for legislation. Most university charters specify that courses are open to both men and women. While 29·2 per cent. of all candidates for admission through the U.C.C.A. scheme last October were women, they composed 30 per cent. of all those accepted.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether he will institute an inquiry into the procedure for transfer to secondary education applied by the Surrey County Council, in view of the detrimental effects it is currently having on the prospects of children in the Lingfield area in comparison with others in the county.

I have asked the Surrey L.E.A. for its comments on the results of the first stage of the selection procedure in the Lingfield area this year.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science why the hon. Member for Ripon has not had a reply to his letter of 13th February with regard to the illegal erection of a classroom at Bramhope County Primary School; what action he is taking to stop the expenditure of public money on this; and if he will send the papers to the Director of Public Prosecutions.

My right hon. Friend wrote to the hon. and gallant Member on 16th April.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will now make a statement on his plan for sports scholarships.

I am not yet ready to make a statement. Discussions are still proceeding.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what progress-chasing he has done as a result of reports submitted to his Department from the Brighton Oceanography Exhibition of February, 1969.

The Exhibition to which my hon. Friend refers formed part of Oceanology '69, at Brighton, which was privately promoted. There was also a complementary conference sponsored by the Society for Underwater Technology. It was not intended that there should be a formal report from the Exhibition, but it is expected that the proceedings of the conference will be published, and these will be studied as soon as they are available.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) when the National Advisory Council for the Supply and Training of Teachers last met;(2) what is the present membership of the National Advisory Council for the Supply and Training of Teachers;(3) what are the present functions of the National Advisory Council for the Supply and Training of Teachers;(4) if he will now disband the National Advisory Council for the Supply and Training of Teachers.

The council last met on 2nd March, 1965, and the terms of office of its members have now expired. Its activities have since been in suspense and I am considering, in connection with my proposals for a teaching council, how best to revive or replace them.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) when the Central Advisory Council last met;(2) what is the present membership of the Central Advisory Council;(3) what subject the Central Advisory Council is currently studying;(4) if he will now introduce legislation to abolish the Central Advisory Council.

The Central Advisory Council last met on 16th October, 1966. The term of office of all its members expired on 30th November, 1966, and no further appointments have since been made. Consequently no new subject has been assigned for study. Section 4 of the Education Act, 1944, which refers to the Central Advisory Council, will come up for review in its turn during the comprehensive examination of present legislation which I have in hand in preparation for a new major Education Bill.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science why he has not referred further questions to the Central Advisory Councils for Education since the completion of the inquiries into primary education in January, 1967.

Having regard to the studies already in hand by various bodies and the forthcoming report of the Royal Commission on Local Government, my right hon. Friend does not think the time is opportune for such an inquiry.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether, during his negotiations with the Marylebone Cricket Club he was informed by them as to when they were aware that South Africa would not accept anybody they selected for tour; whether he was aware of Lord Cobham's information on this subject from Mr. Vorster; and whether he will make a statement.

My discussions with the M.C.C. preceded my statement in the House on 30th January, 1967 to the effect that the M.C.C. would select the team on merit, and if it was unacceptable to the South African Government the tour would be cancelled. At that time the discussions between Lord Cobham and Mr. Vorster had not taken place. Since the discussions no further information on the subject has been conveyed to me by the M.C.C.—[Vol. 740, c. 34–6.]

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will withdraw circular No. 8/60 on nursery schools.

Not at present. New nursery schools and classes are being provided in areas of special social need under the urban programme, and I think this is the most urgent area in which to advance.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what percentage of men and women teachers leave the service within five years of taking up their first appointment.

This information is not available, but figures of wastage of qualified teachers in maintained primary and secondary schools over the six years 1961–62 to 1966–67 were published last week in Table 24 of Statistics of Education, 1967, Volume 4.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what estimate he has made of the extra teachers needed to reduce class sizes to 30 in primary and secondary schools.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave the Member for Barkston Ash (Mr. Alison) in the House today.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what was the total capital value of university building work on which construction started in Scotland in 1968; what were the comparable figures in 1964; and what percentage increase this represents at constant prices.

I would refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 28th November last. While the figure for the financial year 1968–69 is lower than for the calendar year 1964, it represents 27 per cent. of the total value of university building started in Great Britain, as compared with 14 per cent. in 1964.—[Vol. 774, c. 158.]

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether, as a means of increasing emoluments to the police without incurring extra Government expenditure and of reducing evasion of licence fees, he will seek powers to pay a 10 per cent. bonus of all road fund licence fees recouped

No.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications he has received, and how many granted, for relaxation on hardship or compassionate grounds of his Immigration Regulations 26(c) and 26(f).

I understand that the hon. Member is referring to male Commonwealth citizens seeking admission as husbands or fiances under the new rules which my right hon. Friend announced on 30th January. The only available information is that 21 men were admitted in February and 23 in March for marriage to women in this country.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list from information available from the reports of chief constables for the most recent year and for 1964, separately, for the police areas of London, Birmingham. Manchester, Newcastle - upon - Tyne, Cardiff and Oldham the percentage of all detected crime attributable in these areas to children and young persons.

Information in the form requested is not readily available for all the forces concerned. The following table shows, for the years 1964 and 1967, the numbers of persons of all ages found guilty of, or cautioned for, indictable offences; the numbers of juveniles found guilty of, or cautioned for, those offences; and the proportions of juveniles in each case.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if, from information available from the reports of chief constables, he will list for the most recent year and for 1964 for London, Birmingham, Manchester, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Cardiff and Oldham the numbers of serious arrestable offences committed by children and young persons, the numbers of persons proceeded against and cautioned by the police, respectively, and for less serious

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list and 1964 and the most recent year for the police areas of London, Birmingham, Manchester, Newcastle-on-Tyne, Cardiff and Oldham, respectively, the numbers of juvenile persons involved in serious

In view of the difficulty in deciding what is a serious arrestable offence, the information in the following table relates to indictable and non-indictable offences. The number of offences, as distinct from the number of persons proceeded against or cautioned, cannot be obtained without disproportionate cost.offences separately for the age groups 10 to 16 years.

The following table gives the numbers of persons of each year of age from 10 to 16 who were found guilty of, or cautioned for, indictable offences in 1964 and 1967.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the result of his review of the powers of local authorities to control amusement centres, including the opening hours of such centres, the number of machines, and the age of persons using the centres; and if he will now introduce the necessary amending legislation.

I am not satisfied on my present information that the powers of local authorities are inadequate, and that there is a case for legislation at this juncture.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many of the 1,344 complaints against policemen in the Metropolitan area in the year 1968 alleging criminal offences have been investigated; and how many have been upheld.

In accordance with the provisions of the Police Act 1964 all the 1,344 complaints were investigated; 69 were found to be substantiated.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he is aware that the hon. Member for West Ham, North wrote to his Department about Mrs. Richardson of Forest Gate, E.7, on 31st January, 1969, that on 5th March the hon. Member received an interim reply that a further reply was promised after 12th March and by 29th March no such letter was sent; and whether he will investigate all matters connected with this subject.

As I have explained to my hon. Friend, inquiries could not be made into the serious allegations brought against police officers until after court proceedings had been completed on 12th March. Interim replies were sent to my hon. Friend on 10th February and 5th March. A police report was received in the Home Office on 1st April and a full reply was sent on 3rd April.

asked the Secretary of State for Economic Affairs on what date he now expects the report of the Hunt Committee to be published; and if he will make a statement.

The Report will be published on 24th April.

asked the Secretary of State for Economic Affairs what has been the total spent, on local employment grants of all sorts, including regional employment premium and his development area extra in investment grants, between October, 1964, and the latest convenient date.

The hon. Member appears to have in mind the total cost of differential assistance to the development areas under the Government's regional policies over and above that available on a national basis. Such assistance from October, 1964, to March, 1969, is estimated at about £580 million. (The 1968–69 figures are provisional.)

asked the Secretary of State for Economic Affairs what representations he has recently received concerning increased industrial investment; and what reply he has sent.

None, but as my right hon. Friend informed the hon. Member for Scarborough and Whitby (Mr. Michael Shaw) on 20th February, the subject of industrial investment has been discussed at recent meetings of the N.E.D.C.—[Vol. 778, c. 745–6.]

asked the Postmaster-General why the status of Evesham as head post office has been abolished, with transfer of essential functions to Worcester, 15 miles distant; whether he is aware of public concern about postal services in the Vale of Evesham resulting from this abolition; what improvement in services he expects following such abolition; and whether he will make a statement.

To increase administrative efficiency and cut costs as explained in my right hon. Friend the then Postmaster-General's answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Consett (Mr. David Watkins) on 19th December, 1967. I am not aware of any public concern as there has been no change in the services provided in the area.—[Vol. 756, c. 392–6.]

asked the Postmaster-General what arrangements have been made for resumption of mail service to Anguilla.

We are ready to resume the service as soon as postal communication to and from the island can be re-opened. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs is seeking means to this end.

asked the Postmaster-General on how many occasions premium bonds with the prefix ZB have won prizes in the past 12 months.

4,172 in the twelve draws from March, 1968 to February, 1969.

asked the Postmaster-General if he will now introduce legislation to enable him to issue Christmas charity stamps carrying a surcharge of one penny to be contributed to charitable organisations.

No.

asked the Postmaster-General if he will ensure that all mail posted first class in London to another London postal district is delivered sooner than four days after posting; and what action he proposes to take to prevent delays in postal deliveries generally and, in particular, urgent letters to Members of Parliament.

First-class letters posted in London for London addresses are generally delivered by the next working day. I have written to my hon. Friend about the two items to which he recently drew my attention.

asked the Postmaster-General whether he will consider abolishing the charge of £1 which is payable when a telephone in the 700 series is fitted.

I have decided to abolish this charge forthwith. Telephones in the 700 series will become the standard instruction for new connections.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will take steps to ensure that an adequate supply of worthwhile salmon and sea-trout fishing is available to tourists to Scotland.

Scotland already offers good opportunities for tourists to fish for salmon and sea trout; in the course of my study of the Hunter Report I am considering what can be done to improve them still further.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what assessment he has made of the effect of public ownership of fishing rights on poaching.

None in detail. As I have previously made clear, public ownership would still involve regulation and control of angling; and protective measures against unauthorised and illegal fishing would continue to be required.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland when he estimates local authorities in Scotland will have completed repairs to the main damage to roads caused by last winter's weather, such as dangerous potholes, in view of the reduction in the maintenance programme recently announced.

I do not accept that this suggested reduction need prevent local authorities from maintaining their roads in a good state of repair. Trunk road maintenance has not been reduced.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will hold an inquiry into the circumstances of the sale of large quantities of mepromate at a Government surplus sale; and if he will make a statement.

I have nothing to add to the reply my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Social Services gave to Questions on this matter on 14th April.—[Vol. 781, c. 204–5.]

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will arrange for more prizes to be available to premium bond holders by reducing the size of the large dividends and spreading out the amount saved among the others.

I do not believe that this would be conducive to larger volume of savings in this medium. The spurt in Premium Savings Bond sales since the weekly £25,000 prize was introduced last October is convincing evidence of the attraction of large prizes.

asked the Minister of Technology to what extent in his recent meetings with the ministers from France and Germany to discuss the European airbus, he asked them to consider the British Aircraft Corporation 3–11 as a co-operative project; and what response they gave.

Since the French and Federal German Governments had already announced their decision to proceed with the A300B, the BAC 3–11 was not discussed at the meeting with French and German Ministers on 10th April.

asked the Minister of Technology how many firms in Scotland design, manufacture and sell their own marine engines; and what steps he is taking to assist them.

Seven firms in Scotland manufacture and sell marine engines but they are not responsible for the design. Assistance for reorganisation is available under the Shipbuilding Industry Act and the Report of the Shipbuilding Industry Board for 1967–68 shows that some of the companies have received grants under Section 2 for consultants' fees.

asked the Minister of Technology whether he will make a statement on the licensing agreements between Hovercraft Development Limited and United States organisations for the development of hovercraft and on the returns which are anticipated; and what steps he is taking to protect the British technological lead in this field.

The U.S.A. offers a large potential market for passenger-carrying hovercraft, but since they are classified as ships under the Foreign Bottoms Act (Jones Act) this considerably hampers imports. Refusal to license U.S. manufacturers would almost certainly result in infringement of the U.K.-owned patents and extremely expensive and doubtful action for enforcement.N.R.D.C. therefore licensed a U.S. manufacturer some years ago (at that time only N.R.D.C. had invested in hovercraft development). I understand that it grants manufacturing rights in the U.S.A. only, selling rights in that country and, in competition with U.K. craft in certain adjacent countries; it also provides for the interchange of information and rights of exploitation by the licensor of developments made by the licensee. I have no reason to doubt that the terms give the maximum possible advantage to N.R.D.C. and the U.K. economy.At present the U.K. is undoubtedly ahead in the number of hovercraft in service and in advanced stages of production. My Department and N.R.D.C. are, in close collaboration, continuing to invest in further research and development, and we expect to maintain our technological and sales lead for the foreseeable future.

asked the Minister of Technology whether he will make a statement as a result of the report of the working party for technical and economic exploitation of hydrofoil craft.

My right hon. Friend is awaiting the results of certain technical investigations which were recommended by the working party. When these are available he will consider them together with the working party's report.

asked the Minister of Technology what is his latest estimate, including revised contingency expenditure, of the research and development costs of Concorde; what is the total sum so fat expended by Great Britain; and what is his estimate of the likely cancellation charges on the project being abandoned at this stage.

My right hon. Friend hopes to make a statement shortly regarding the latest estimates of the costs of extramural development. Expenditure on the British side so far totals about £170 million. No precise estimates of the costs of cancellation at this stage are possible.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence how many times in the last three years has the helicopter stationed at Manston been used to assist in sea rescue operations; and how many persons have been rescued thereby.

Fully detailed records are available only for the two years to 31st March, 1969. During this period Manston helicopters took part in sea rescue operations on 100 occasions and 47 people were brought ashore. The following is an analysis of these incidents:

asked the Secretary of State for Defence whether he will amplify paragraph 53 in Chapter II of Command Paper No. 3927 to indicate whether 1968 was a busier year than 1967.

There was some increase in activity in 1968, following a slight reduction in 1967.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence why four soldiers' families of the 1st Battalion the Gordon Highlanders stationed in West Germany were ordered to vacate their quarters so that they could be occupied by the families of non-commissioned officers; and what was the cost to public funds, including disturbance allowances, time off for the soldiers to facilitate the removal, and the use of Army vehicles.

The move of the four soldiers' families followed a decision to house the battalion's junior and senior ranks in separate blocks of flats.The extra cost to public funds was about £50.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment and Productivity what further steps she intends to take to end the discrimination by many employers against men and women over 45 years of age in regard to employment opportunities.

Employment exchanges will continue their efforts to persuade employers not to enforce rigid age limits and to make capacity the test of suitability for engagement or retention in employment. I am convinced that in this matter a policy of persuasion is more fruitful than one of compulsion. Opportunities for older workers would I think be substantially improved if more of them were prepared to take advantage of the facilities for training, retraining, industrial rehabilitation and occupational guidance offered by my Department.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment and Productivity on what date she was informed of the proposed national increase of pay for clerical workers in the engineering industry; and what is the estimated percentage increase in rates, earnings and productivity arising from this settlement.

Details of the agreement between the Engineering Employers Federation and the unions representing clerical employees were notified to my Department on 1st April. The agreement provides for increases in minimum rates for adult men and women of 18·7 per cent. and 23·5 per cent. respectively, and the effect on earnings is estimated to 4·7 per cent. (2·.7 per cent. on an annual basis since the last increase). My Department is now assessing the settlement against the requirements of incomes policy.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he has completed his plans for improving export trade between Aberdeen and Scandinavia; and if he will give details of his plans.

Firms in Aberdeen wishing to export to Scandinavia are eligible for the wide range of export services offered by the Board of Trade and the Export Council for Europe. These facilities have recently been expanded in scope and interested firms can obtain details from the Board of Trade.British exports to Scandinavia in 1968 increased by over 10 per cent. compared with 1967, and for the first two months

asked the President of the Board of Trade when he expects to have completed publication of all the reports of the 1963 Census of Production, the first reports of which appeared in December 1967; and whether he will list the trades on which the 1963 reports have yet to appear, giving the figures by regions and details of the distribution of firms by size.

To date, 101 separate industry reports of the 1963 Census of Production have been published. The remaining 27 industry reports, which are listed in the table below, will be published at intervals between now and the middle of this year. The industry reports, which include analyses by size of enterprise within the industry, will be followed by three volumes of summary information which will provide, inter alia, analyses by region. It is expected that these volumes will be published by the end of 1969.

asked the Minister for Overseas Development what percentage of the gross national product is now being devoted to overseas aid in loans and grants, respectively.

In 1968, 0·23 per cent. of the gross national product was transferred to the developing countries in the form of loans, and 0·26 per cent. in the form of grants.

asked the Minister of Transport what action is required of a driver under the regulations when his engine suddely stalls when he is driving in the fast lane of a motorway overtaking other vehicles, especially if he is going uphill.

The Motorway Regulations, 1959, do not make any specific requirement in this very rare situation, though they would not preclude driving on to the central reservation in an attempt to avoid an accident. If a breakdown causes a vehicle to stop on the carriageway, the Regulations require that the vehicle should as soon as possible be moved to the hard shoulder.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the complement of domestic labour at weekends at the Goodmayes Hospital, Ilford.

On Saturdays nine staff are employed for a total of 52 hours: on Sundays, five staff for 33 hours.

asked the Minister of Transport what is his policy for the development of the South Wales ports; on what criteria he bases his investment decisions; and if he will make a statement.

In South Wales, as elsewhere, the initiative for port development projects rests with the port authorities concerned. Schemes costing more than £500,000 require my authorisation under Section 9 of the Harbours Act, 1964. Before giving such an authorisation I must first consult the National Ports Council, and, in addition, I satisfy myself that the development will show a satisfactory return on the investment.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government what nomination has been made by Her Majesty's Government to the Board of Patrons for the European Conservation Year 1970.

I am glad to say that His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh has agreed to accept the nomination.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government what steps he is taking to prevent the disfigurement or demolition of No. 53 and Nos. 55 to 59 Gordon Square, in the Bloomsbury conservation area.

As part of the urgent review of buildings in Bloomsbury mentioned in the reply I gave to my hon. Friend on 17th March, No. 53 Gordon Square has now been included in the statutory list of buildings of special architectural or historic interest; and it cannot, therefore, now be demolished, or altered, in a way which would affect its character without the consent of the local planning authority or of my right hon. Friend.Nos. 55–59 Gordon Square, however, form part of the site for which the University of London obtained planning permission for redevelopment in 1965. For the reasons given in my reply of 17th March, my right hon. Friend has concluded that he should not intervene to frustrate the university's proposals at this very late stage; and accordingly no buildings on this site have been added to the statutory list.—[Vol. 780, c.