asked the Minister of Public Building and Works (1) whether he will illuminate suitable parts of St. James's Park; and

My right hon. Friend is much attracted by this proposal, and he hopes to be able to carry out a modest scheme, costing perhaps £2,000–£3,000, in due course. The operating cost should not be more than £400 a year.

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for raising hope that something will be done here. Does not he agree that St. James's Park, if skilfully illuminated, would be enchanting and would add greatly to the attractiveness of London? Is there a chance of this being done by next summer?

I would not like to commit myself to when it would be done, but I agree with my right hon. Friend that floodlighting would make the park enchanting. However, if we spend money on this project, even though the amount is small, we shall possibly be unable to do something much more essential.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works what plans he has for cleaning the facade of the Palace of Westminster.

None at present, Sir.

As this is one of the most visited and observed buildings in the country, does not the hon. Gentleman think that great benefit would result, bearing in mind the success with the cleaning of other public buildings in London?

Of course some benefit may be derived from cleaning the building, but there is the question of cost, and in this case it would be about £200,000. The time scale would also be long. The Government are not prepared to spend £200,000 on such a project at the moment.

Has the hon. Gentleman any plans for cleaning out the inside of the Palace of Westminster, which would save a lot of cost, by having a General Election?

Could not the cost be recouped for the purpose by a son et lumiére performance?

I will consider it.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works what progress has been made with studies of labour-only contracting in the building and civil engineering industry.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works whether he will now publish a White Paper outlining the terms of the Government's proposed legislation on contractual liability for self-employed building workers.

I am urgently considering these matters in consultation with my colleagues and I hope shortly to be in a position to make a statement.

Will my right hon. Friend make this consideration as urgent as possible? Is he aware that many employers are avoiding their responsibilities to the Chancellor of the Exchequer and that the considerable growth in labour-only contracting is leading to a deterioration in standards in the building industry generally and in the conditions of those working in it?

I am aware of those anxieties. The survey will be conducted with great dispatch.

Is the right hon. Gentle-man aware that it is also important to carry responsibile opinion in all parts of the industry with him? Could he consider the suggestion in my Question of a White Paper before legislation is introduced?

The hon. Gentleman is quite right. It is important to consider the views of the industry, but the question of a White Paper is premature.

Is my right hon. Friend aware that the building trade unions have given great consideration to this matter and are most anxious that legislation should be brought in at the earliest possible moment to deal with the iniquitous and scandalous operation of labour-only contracting at present?

Yes, Sir. I am aware of the trade unions' point of view.

Is not the right hon. Gentleman fully aware of the impact of the selective employment tax in this matter and that it is making such legislation so much more urgent?

This problem antedated the selective employment tax. However, there are a number of Questions on the Order Paper on the taxation aspect and I do not wish to anticipate them.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works whether he will now make a statement on the future of labour-only sub-contracting in private contracts with his Department.

No, Sir. Progress on this must be considered as part of the examination of the Phelps Brown Report now in hand. But tinder my Department's existing conditions of contract the use of all sub-contractors must be approved by the superintending officer who is warned about the dangers of using the self-employed type of labour-only sub-contractor and is instructed to avoid this wherever practicable.

I am obliged for that reply, but would my right hon. Friend agree that among his own labour force there are still widespread misgivings about tax irregularities, falling standards of workmanship and hidden subsidies enjoyed by private contracting firms of this kind as a result of using Ministry equipment? Could he give reassurances in this respect?

I know that my hon Friend has pressed this point vigorously before. My instructions to my Department on this question have recently been strengthened, but we need to consider the whole of the Phelps Brown Report, and this is now in hand.

Is my right hon. Friend aware that on a Yorkshire Television programme called "Calendar" last Thursday three labour-only sub-contractors openly admitted to drawing unemployment benefit while working as labour only sub-contractors? Would my right hon. Friend make an investigation to see whether these people were employed on Government contracts by tenderers who might be doing work for the Government?

This matter has been investigated a good deal and it has been shown that they were not. But the fact that they made those remarks lends point to the need to discuss the whole question.

Does the Minister appreciate that S.E.T. is driving ordinary contractors to labour only sub-contracting?

I do not think that that is a very good argument, and I am a little surprised by the hon. Gentleman's method of dealing with it. Clearly this is something which should be discouraged. Whatever blame is attached, it should not be done.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works if he will issue a statement outlining the result of the meeting his head of purchasing organisation had with the Federation of British Carpet Manufacturers.

There has been a useful exchange of views and the Department is now awaiting suggestions from the Federation on possible future arrangements for discount contracts.

Is my hon. Friend aware that a carpet firm in my constituency was very dissatisfied with the reorganisation of the contracts? Is he now telling the House that, as a consequence of this meeting, the disquiet of this firm can now be resolved?

The question with which we are dealing is part and parcel of a new policy in our purchasing section to get it running on the most efficient lines, so that we get the best value for money. The firm which my hon. Friend mentioned will be considered when new contracts are ready and are being arranged. Scotland generally should get a greater proportion of the purchases, because three of the six firms now holding discount contracts are north of the Border.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works how many notifications of price increases he has received under the early warning arrangements since the Budget; and what is the policy of Her Majesty's Government towards these increases in the light of the balance of payments policy set out in that Budget.

Two, Sir. The policy of Her Majesty's Government remains as outlined in my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer's Budget Statement.

But even in the modest rôle which the right hon. Gentleman is performing, can he confirm that he accepts sympathetically the argument for the need for price levels which will sustain levels of investment? Has his attention been drawn to the recent speeches of Sir John Reiss and Sir Halford Reddish on this point in respect of the cement industry?

I am aware of this point, and I think that paragraph 16 of the White Paper on Productivity, Prices and Incomes Policy meets the case.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works if he will make a statement on the availability of bricks in Scotland.

I have nothing to add to the statement I made on 21st May in answer to a similar Question from my hon. Friend the Member for Rutherglen (Mr. Gregor Mackenzie).—[Vol. 784, c. 106.]

To which planning organisation should we credit the remarkable achievement of a glut of bricks in England and a pretty desperate shortage in Scotland? Has the right hon. Gentleman noticed that there has been a sharp decline in building starts and completions in Scotland in the first few months of the year? Will he look into this matter as one of great urgency?

I think that the hon. Gentleman has his facts slightly wrong. In fact, the shortage of bricks in Scotland relates only to the central belt, which is due to internal factors. Some brick makers have been unable to maintain full production through shortages of labour, because the labour has gone into other industries.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works on what criteria the selection of the pictures which are at present hanging in the Harcourt Room is based.

The selection is made on the recommendation of the Committee of Members which advises Mr. Speaker and my right hon. Friend on works of art in the House of Commons.

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that I have recently entertained several friends from the Commonwealth who have expressed disgust at the low standard of the pictures hanging in this room in the House? Would he confirm that the picture consisting of some straight lines which never meet is a reminder to the Ministry of Transport that the missing link between the M1, the M5 and the M6 is not yet completed?

The hon. Gentleman and I have a lot in common in this matter. We are both philistines and should leave this to people who understand art.

While not claiming to be one of those people, as least I know what I enjoy. Would my hon. Friend acknowledge that some of these pictures may be excellent financial investments but provide little enjoyment? Would he consider using his powers of patronage to support living artists rather than dead ones, however eminent?

Practically all of the pictures in the Harcourt Room are on loan to us from the Tate Gallery, so they do not cost the House a halfpenny. It is right that all the schools of thought in art should be represented there for the benefit of hon. Members like the hon. Member for Bromsgrove (Mr. Dance).

Does not my hon. Friend agree that it is highly desirable that hon. Members and their friends should be able to see in a room in this building examples of the outstanding British artists whose work has been bought by the Tate Gallery? Is he aware that the picture referred to in particular by the hon. Member for Bromsgrove (Mr. Dance) is the work of an artist with a very high international reputation?

I am in complete agreement with my right hon. Friend.

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that we are getting very tired of the green lady at the end of the room—I do not know whether she is a former Minister of Transport—who looks as if she is suffering from the effects of the breathalyser?

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works whether he will institute a regular system of guides for conducting parties round the Tower of London.

I believe that the present arrangements under which Yeoman Warders conduct parties round the Tower as part of their duties are generally favoured by visitors. Organised parties may bring in their own guides.

Would my right hon. Friend agree that, in competing for the services of these Yeomen Warders, school parties particularly are at a disadvantage? Could he not do something special for them.

This is a very real difficulty. It is, I suppose, a case of too many school parties chasing too few guides. But in the summer season as many as 22,000 visitors go to the Tower in one day. The idea of increasing the number of guides, all of whom would no doubt tell exactly the same story but in conflicting voices, might be a little difficult.

Would my right hon. Friend consider opening the Tower on winter Sundays, including mornings, since this is the only time when many working families have a chance to go there?

I should have thought that the existing arrangements were good enough, but I will consider that.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works what is the current size of the national brick stockpile; and what steps he is taking to reduce it.

At the end of April stocks of bricks were 926 million. As my predecessor explained to the hon. Member on 22nd April, this is a private enterprise sector of industry and I am not responsible for any over-estimation it may make. I have reason to expect, however, that stocks will be reduced over the summer months.—[Vol. 782, c. 238–9.]

Since brick production is now lower than it was when the Labour Government were elected in 1964, and since the brick stockpile is now larger than it has ever been at this time of the year, would the right hon. Gentleman advise the industry to increase or to decrease production?

I would advise the industry to be aware of the forecasts which are made.

But is it satisfactory for the Minister to deny responsibility for brick stocks, in view of the fact that the Prime Minister said in 1964 that a Labour Government would plan the bricks? Is this the fulfilment of that planning? Is it not his own Government's fault, in view of the fall in housing starts?

If the correct forecasts are made and disregarded by the industry, the industry itself suffers.

Would my right hon. Friend recognise and inform hon. Members opposite that many new techniques in house and other building are now taking place, and that the same use is not made of bricks?

indicated assent.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works how many committees sponsored by his Department are currently in existence which have as members persons outside the Civil Service, and, in particular, builders.

47, of which 23 include builders.

Since the terms of reference of the Minister's National Consultative Council are virtually the same as those of the E.D.C.s, would it not be a good thing to start reducing this number by scrapping the latter?

No, Sir. There is another Question on this subject which I should not anticipate. The hon. Member's supplementary question does not relate to his Question on the Order Paper.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works what further steps he has taken to estimate the effect on productivity in the civil engineering industry of British Standard Time; and whether he will make a statement.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works what estimate he has now made of the effects on production in the building industry of British Standard Time; and whether he will make a statement.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works what recent action he has taken to publish evidence on the effects on the building industry of British Standard Time in the winter months.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works what survey he has made of the effects on safety and productivity of building contractors of British Standard Time in midwinter; and whether he will make a statement.

As my predecessor stated on 22nd April the results of the N.F.B.T.E. survey were passed to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Home Department on 26th March, who stated that it was a cogent, well-substantiated and objective report which would carry full weight in the present assessment. No similar representations have been received from the Federation of Civil Engineering Contractors on this subject. Further studies would not be helpful until the results of his interim assessment are known.—[Vol. 782, c. 240–2].

Is not the Minister aware that it is impossible artificially to light many of these building sites? Why should builders on these sites be handicapped by having to start late?

I am well aware that the N.F.B.T.E. has given examples which it believes affect the whole of this issue. I am also confident that my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary will take all these factors into consideration.

The Minister said that the civil engineers had not made any representations. Would it help him in his representations to the Home Secretary if they did so? He can take it from me that they find this problem very difficult.

As I have said, this is a matter which can well be left to my right hon. Friend.

What steps have been taken to pursue this matter with the Home Secretary?

As I said a moment ago, my right hon. Friend has received the results of the N.F.B.T.E. survey

Will my right hon. Friend again draw the Home Secretary's attention to this report and to the fact that many hon. Members with deep understanding of the building industry warned when the legislation was introduced that for the building industry it would be an utter failure?

This and other considerations and matters of balance will all be taken into account by my right hon. Friend. I do not think that he needs me to add to them.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works what steps he now proposes to take to ensure continuing financial stability in the civil engineering industry.

I shall maintain my predecessor's policy of support for the longer-term planning of civil engineering work in the public sector.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that his predecessor acknowledged a particular responsibility of the Government in this, as 90 per cent. of all civil engineering work is for the public sector? As civil engineering contracts do not have fluctuation clauses, would he not agree that firm price contracts are wrecked by constant increases in S.E.T., and will he make further representations to the Chancellor of the Exchequer?

The inclusion of tax fluctuation clauses is another question.

As the rolling programme for roads forecast has been a success, will the right hon. Gentleman take steps to extend this sort of forecasting into other sectors of the civil engineering industry?

I am grateful to my hon. Friend. I agree that the development of rolling programmes has made headway, especially with roads. The economic development committees are examining the prospects of developing further applications of this technique.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works what representations he has received from the Federation of Civil Engineering Contractors in regard to the effect of selective employment tax on the civil engineering industry and what reply he has sent.

Representatives of the F.C.E.C. have discussed with me the treatment of the impending S.E.T. increase in respect of current contracts, and the more general question of tax fluctuation clauses in civil engineering contracts. I am considering these matters urgently in consultation with my colleagues, and I am not yet in a position to give a final answer.

Would not the right hon. Gentleman agree that the S.E.T. increases impose serious additional burdens on the whole construction industry? Would he not agree that it will be difficult to get fixed price contracts in future if there is always a danger of such sudden savage increases in tax?

I am fully aware of the feelings of the Federation of Civil Engineering Contractors.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works what increases in the productivity of the construction industry he estimates have taken place as a result of the levying of selective employment tax.

Since 1966 output per head on new work has increased at an average annual rate of 6½ per cent. as compared with the previous rate of about 4 per cent., but whether this acceleration is wholly due to S.E.T. I am not in a position to estimate.

I am grateful to the Minister for making that reservation in his Answer, because undoubtedly the result of S.E.T. has been more self-employed direct labour and an increase in the prices of all building products.

Would my right hon. Friend agree that the figure which he has given for the increase in productivity has been accomplished with a smaller work force than that employed during 1966?

That is a very good point. Between 1966 and 1968, the work force of private contractors fell by over 2 per cent. a year while their output increased by an annual rate of nearly 4½ per cent.

But is the right hon. Gentleman aware that the main effect of S.E.T. on this industry is a falling-away in apprentices and a considerable increase in labour only subcontracting? Will he take that into account and get something done to relieve the burden on this industry?

I have heard that suggested, but so far I have had no concrete evidence of a fall-away in apprentices. I am very well aware of the problem of labour only sub-contracting, and I am studying it closely.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works what representations he has received to set up a Government Building Corporation; and what reply he has sent.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works whether he will make a statement on his policy regarding the setting up of a Government Building Corporation.

I have received no representation from any quarter about a Government Building Corporation, but I am willing to examine any relevant proposals which might lead to improved efficiency in the industry.

Can the Minister give an assurance that he will not waste his time on plans for yet another wasteful public corporation, but will instead concentrate his efforts on trying to reduce the burdens that the Government have put on industry, burdens such as S.E.T.?

I will certainly give the hon. Member an assurance that I will not waste my time, but I do not accept the rest of his question.

Does not the right hon. Gentleman agree that if a building corporation were brought into being it would certainly increase building costs? Will he resist such a proposal?

I would not agree, because in any event I have not yet considered the question, but if the hon. Gentleman would like me to consider it I should be delighted to do so.

Would not my right hon. Friend agree that a building corporation could well augment the housing programme in the great cities with the most serious housing problems? Will he look sympathetically at any scheme which may be put before him by the trade unions or by individual hon. Members which could help towards that end?

I will always look sympathetically at any scheme put forward to me by trade unions or individual hon. Members, especially my hon. Friend.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works whether he is aware that the importation of foreign marble into this country amounts to approximately £2 million worth a year; what approximate proportion of such imports are used in buildings for which his department is responsible; and what steps he has taken or proposes to take to use materials of British origin in substitution.

Yes, Sir. The volume of marble and marble-type imports in 1968 was 72,000 tons, valued at £1·8 million. So far as the Department is concerned the use of marble is kept to a minimum. The estimated annual use of slab marble and chippings in the Department's buildings is approximately 160 tons, valued at about £1,750.

I do not suggest that all Government buildings are marble halls, but will the Minister bear in mind that there is now a perfectly adequate British substitute for marble and that we could stop this little drain on our balance of payments?

I am glad that the hon. Gentleman recognises that £1,750 is a little drain. We do our best with our own buildings to ensure that when there is a material which may be substituted for marble, it is used.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works what progress he has made in his studies of the relationship between his Department's directly-employed labour force and the maintenance workers directly employed by local authorities: and whether he will make a statement.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works whether he will make a statement on his Department's studies of the possibility of co-operation between his own direct labour force and those of local authorities.

I am not yet in a position to make a statement, but as I told my hon. Friend the Member for Bassetlaw (Mr. Ashton) on 20th May, I do not rule this out.—[Vol. 784, c. 246.]

Does that mean that the studies which the right hon. Gentleman said in reply to a Question on 20th May he was to undertake, have started, and when in his estimate will they be completed?

The hon. Gentleman is far too kind to me. Three weeks is not a very long time, especially when two weeks have been spent in Recess. When the various improvements in my D.E.L. as outlined in my statement of 20th May have come into effect, that will be the moment to consider this question.

In view of the failure of a number of these direct labour organisations, is not the best way in which the right hon. Gentleman could give them the consideration his hon. Friend suggests they deserve be to take no further action?

The hon. Gentleman has made an interesting comment, but it is not a view which is universally shared. Many local authority direct labour organisations are extremely successful and it is interesting to note that many private enterprise undertakings also have efficient direct labour forces.

Would net my right hon. Friend agree that it would be an advantage to local authorities if he outlined to them the lessons he has learned from his own D.E.L.?

There may be lessons not only for local authorities, but for all others in the operation of D.E.L. by my Ministry. I will certainly get in touch with my right hon. Friends about this.

Will the right hon. Gentleman consider putting in the Library a copy of the Labour Party's This Week dated 16th May which contained much more information than the right hon. Gentleman gave to the House in his statement?

I will always consider anything the hon. Gentleman suggests.

Would not my right hon. Friend agree that if he is to go into this matter in some depth, he should also consider the number of bankruptcies among private enterprise building firms? The number is legion, higher than for any other industry. Will he also recognise that local authorities provide conditions of employment about 20 per cent. better than those in private enterprise?

My hon. Friend made the same point to me on 20th May and my reply is the same.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works if he will now review the terms of reference of the National Consultative Council: and if he will make a statement.

No, Sir.

Further to the Parliamentary Secretary's reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Ilford, North (Mr. Iremonger), is there not a good case for amalgamating these two committees? They do similar work. Would not the committee time be cut if they were amalgamated?

I take it that the hon. Gentleman is talking about the National Consultative Council and the E.D.C.s. If he looks at the constitutions of both bodies, he will find that they deal with entirely different facets. [Interruption.] I have the constitution before me. It is no good the hon. Gentleman saying "No". There is liaison between both committees to ensure that there is no overlapping of work.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works if he will make a statement on the future of the Construction Industry Research and Information Association.

The Construction Industry Research and Information Association has informed me that its income is inadequate for its current and future tasks. My officials are at present discussing the situation with representatives of the industry, and the matter will come before my National Consultative Council on 25th July. I will make a further statement as soon as possible thereafter.

Is the right hon. Gentleman satisfied that it is reasonable that the same organisation should be responsible for both research and information? Would it not be better if this difficult problem were dealt with by obtaining a solution from the industry which was agreed and not imposed upon it?

I acknowledge that the purely voluntary basis of the C.I.R.I.A. has failed and we may have to consider other possibilities.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works whether he will make a statement on the progress of his Working Party on Events in 1971.

The Working Party was set up by the National Consultative Council to co-ordinate events to mark the Golden Jubilee of the Building Research Station. The Working Party has so far held one meeting, and in due course will publish a list of events.

asked the Minister of Power whether he will introduce legislation affecting the gas industry in the present session of Parliament.

I am not yet able to give a date of the introduction of the legislation.

Can the hon. Gentleman at least say whether legislation will be introduced this Session or next Session? He has dangled this possibility before the House for some time and it would be of great service to us if we knew when we might expect the legislation.

Like the hon. Gentleman, I am aware of the date involved, but I am not in a position to say when the Bill will be introduced. However, it will be introduced as soon as Parliamentary time permits.

asked the Minister of Power whether he has yet approved the investment programme of the British Steel Corporation; and if he wil make a statement.

My right hon. Friend is considering it now.

Would not the hon. Gentleman agree that the N.B.P.I. Report on steel prices is a monstrous intereference with the commercial practice of the British Steel Corporation? What effect does he think it will have on the investment programme which his right hon. Friend is currently drawing up?

My right hon. Friend will make a further statement on the Report to the House as soon as possible. In the meantime, I comment in a similar spirit to that in which I answered the hon. Member for Cirencester and Tewkesbury (Mr. Ridley): I would not accept the hon. Gentleman as the best spokesman for the publicly-owned steel industry.

asked the Minister of Power whether he will make a statement on his policy regarding the recommendations of the Hunt Committee that the National Coal Board's Opencast Executive should be used as the basis for a land reclamation agency.

This is a matter primarily for my right hon. Friend the Minister of Housing and Local Government, whose position was explained by the Minister for Planning and Land in a reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Sheffield, Heeley (Mr. Hooley) on 6th May [Vol. 783, c. 53]. The Opencast Executive is indeed admirably suited to undertake land reclamation, and I hope that more local authorities will call on its expertise and services.

I welcome that reply, but does not my hon. Friend agree that it is necessary to stress the importance of a national land reclamation agency and the great value of the work done by the Opencast Executive?

I certainly agree, as I have just said, and as I have said previously. The Opencast Executive is well suited to undertake this kind of work, and I hope that it wil be called upon to do more work of this kind; but this is a matter essentially for the Minister of Housing and Local Government.

Will my hon. Friend initiate discussion with that Ministry to make rapid progress in this matter in view of the great importance laid upon it by the Hunt Committee?

I am in touch with the National Coal Board on their responsibility in this, and I would like to leave it at that for the moment.

asked the Minister of Power what measures he has now considered to increase public awareness of the maximum resale price of electricity.

I have nothing to add as yet to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Bournemouth, West (Sir J. Eden) on 29th April.—[Vol. 782, c. 1140.]

Is the Parliamentary Secretary aware of the inquiries being conducted by the Consultative Council, by Manchester University students and at Sheffield, and will he say what is the outcome?

I am aware of the inquiries of the Consultative Council to which the hon. Gentleman refers and of other consultative council inquiries which are going on, because I have to some extent been involved in initiating those inquiries and have had discussions with the councils concerned.

Does the hon. Gentleman realise that it is not just a question of increasing public awareness of the maximum price at which electricity can be resold, but putting weapons into the hands of consumers who are being victimised so that they can reclaim the amounts by which they are being overcharged?

I certainly agree that there are a quite large and perhaps unknown number of cases where consumers who are ill-protected are suffering as a result of overcharging. As I have previously said in the House, I am looking into this question as thoroughly as possible.

asked the Minister of Power how many representations he has received in the last 12 months from electricity consumers on the prices which they are paying for electricity through privately installed meters.

Twenty-one individually, but others have come on behalf of classes and groups of consumers.

May I assure the Parliamentary Secretary that I have received in my constituency vastly more complaints than the number which he has received as a Minister? What consultations has he had with his colleagues to make overcharging a criminal offence, as recommended by the Consumer Council?

As I have said. I have initiated discussions on this matter in many directions; we are looking into the subject. May I say not only to the hon. Member but to other hon. Members that the Department would welcome more evidence of cases of overcharging

asked the Minister of Power if he will take steps to ensure that unofficial strikes in the gas industry do not create a situation in which life and property are endangered.

Strikes at gas works are very rare and are, in the first instance, best left to the good sense of the Gas Boards, employees and trade unions to settle or avoid.

Does not the Parliamentary Secretary agree that it is intolerable that the people of this country should be endangered by unofficial strikes, and when will his Government publish a Bill to deal with this matter?

May I suggest that the hon. Gentleman puts down his Question to the appropriate Minister, and contains his simulated indignation on the matter.

Is the Minister aware that gas workers who come out on strike are in law guilty of a criminal offence? In view of his reply, with which I wholly agree, does not this show how ridiculous it is to impose penal provisions against those who come out on strike?

Answer.

Does the Parliamentary Secretary think that a compulsory cooling-off period would be appropriate to the gas industry and, if so, will he say whether it will be brought in?

Answer.

asked the Minister of Power what are the current average weekly earnings of the employees of the National Coal Board.

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply given by the Under-Secretary of State for Employment and Productivity to my hon. Friend the Member for Midlothian (Mr. Eadie) on 17th February, 1969.—[Vol. 778, c. 18.]

Would the hon. Gentleman accept that the very low relative level to which miners' wages have sunk may well be the reason for the drop in the ability of the Coal Board to hold its labour in the productive coalfields? Is he aware that the arguments put forward about morale might be stronger if the level of miners' wages was a little higher?

A number of factors are involved in the employment question in the better colliery areas other than the point which has been raised by the hon. Gentleman. In any case, I would not rely on him as a spokesman for the National Union of Mineworkers.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government what progress has been made towards implementing the recommendations of the Joint Review Body on Local Authority Purchasing.

Most of the Joint Review Body's recommendations were addressed to Government Departments and to the local authorities jointly, and my right hon. Friend will first want to discuss them with all concerned. I understand that the local authority associations have now considered the report and will be ready to discuss it with him very soon.

I welcome the progress of the consultations, but will my hon. Friend agree that this is an important matter, not least because of the scope for increasing efficiency, and will he say when he hopes to be in a position to make a fuller statement?

I share my hon. Friend's view that this is an important Report. My right hon. Friend is anxious to obtain constructive results for his consideration, and he does not therefore wish to over-press the local authority associations. As soon as they come to him, he will be ready to report.