asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many comprehensive schools were in operation at the last date for which figures are available; and what was the total in 1964.

There were 745 comprehensive schools in January, 1968, and I expect the figure in January, 1969 to be of the order of 900. In January, 1964 there were 195.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if his Department will provide additional assistance to the Central Bureau for Educational Visits and Exchanges in order that they may arrange for an increase in the present total of 30 British teachers to teach in the countries of the European Economic Community during the coming academic year.

There is no quota system. It is open to the Central Bureau for Educational Visits and Exchanges to arrange as many teacher exchanges with European countries as possible. The Department will make a small grant to offset the effect of the 1967 devaluation to all teachers retaining their salary while on exchange.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will give details of the major school building programmes for primary and secondary schools in 1969–70, showing the value of authorised projects for basic needs and improvements and replacements separately.

The figures are: primary, £29·9 million for basic needs and £14·4 million for improvements and replacements; secondary, £51·5 million for basic needs and £11·2 million for improvements and replacements.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science when he will announce an increase in cost limits for school building.

When I am satisfied that it is necessary.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how the £21·6 million added to the major school building programme for 1968–69 to meet an excess of starts over the authorised total in 1967–68 was divided between primary and secondary schools, and between basic needs and improvements and replacements.

As the projects which contributed to the excess of starts in 1967–68 cannot be identified individually, the £21·6 million cannot be analysed in terms of the Question.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what proposals he has for implementing the recommendations of the National Economic Development Council Committee on Management Education, Training and Development.

My right hon. Friend and I are carefully studying those recommendations which bear on the work of the Department. As my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister explained to the House on 3rd July, the recommendations of the report concern a large number of bodies besides the Government.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science when he estimates that the Robbins Committee Report target of 111.000 places in colleges of education by 1973–74 will be reached; and what plans he has for further expansion thereafter.

I estimate that the target set for 1973–74 will be reached this year or next. Existing plans are likely to produce a further increase of about 8,000 places over the next four or five years.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will give details of the departmental study into the future level of attainment by the more able children in comprehensive schools; and if he will make a statement.

There is no such study at the moment.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many comprehensive schools operate streaming and setting, respectively, for academic tuition; and how many such schools employ methods which avoid these systems of selection.

Precise information is not available; these matters are the responsibility of the school authorities.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many new schools in England and Wales have now been structurally completed or are near completion, but cannot be used or opened because of lack of funds to take on staff and run these schools; what is the value of the capital assets not being used; and what are the estimated running costs per annum of these schools.

I know of none.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will list the primary and secondary schools, colleges of further education and technical colleges, respectively, in England and Wales which he has authorised and which have now been completed or are near completion but cannot be opened because of lack of funds to take on staff showing separately the capital expenditure, the estimated running cost and the estimated length of the delay in opening the school.

I know of none.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the present proportion of Birken- head primary school boys attending Roman Catholic schools in the county borough; and what proportion of last year's total male entrants into secondary academic education in the borough were educated at Roman Catholic primary schools.

The answer to both parts of the Question is 25 per cent.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will now approve a secondary school building programme for the borough of Richmond for 1970–71.

No. I am still waiting for the authority to supply information which I need for a decision on their proposals.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science when he will publish the consolidated report of the Youth Service Development Council based on the work of the Milson and Fairbairn Committees; and if he will make a statement on the report.

The report is now being printed and will be published well before the House resumes after the Recess. My right hon. Friend is most grateful to the Council for the thorough study it has made and believes that it will make a major contribution to future thinking about the development of youth work. The Government will examine the issues raised by the report and consult the bodies concerned with a view to announcing their conclusions in due course.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what steps he has taken to protect and to encourage the provision of facilities for recreational sea-fishing; and if he will make a statement.

Angling clubs, including sea angling clubs, are elegible for grant under the Physical Training and Recreation Act. If facilities need protection, clubs should consult the appropriate Regional Sports Council.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science why the assumed percentage increase in local authority expenditure on education in 1970–71 is lower than the overall percentage increase in rate support grant for that year.

The current rate support grant settlement envisages that expenditure on education by local authorities will rise at a steady rate of nearly 4 per cent. per annum during 1969–70 and 1970–71, or by about 8 per cent. in all. A similar total growth-rate is allowed for in other local authority expenditure over these two years, but for demographic and other reasons the increase in this expenditure is expected to be smaller in the first year than in the second.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the estimated public expenditure on students' grants in Great Britain for 1969–70.

£138 million.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the existing position in the dispute between the National Association of schoolmasters and the education authorities in the county of Durham.

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Employment and Productivity and I, acting jointly, have appointed a committee of inquiry. The committee started its hearings in private on Monday last.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what consultations he has had with Portsmouth City Council concerning loan sanction for the extension of museum and art gallery facilities to compensate for accommodation lost during the Second World War; and whether he will make a statement.

Sanction was given for loans totalling £45,900 over the four years to 1969–70 for restoration and preservation work at the Southsea Castle museum, and for a loan in 1968–69 of £10,300 for restoration work at the Dickens Birthplace Museum. In addition sanction was given in 1968–69 for a loan of £96,350, of which £46,350 was sponsored by the Department of Education and Science, for a site to be used for library, museum and art gallery purposes in Portsmouth. A loan sanction application for building a library on this site is under consideration. No application for building a museum or art gallery has yet been received.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether, in view of large classes and cramped conditions in primary and secondary schools, he will have discussions with local education authorities on ways of using time and space more efficiently.

Although the primary and secondary school building programme increased from £87 million to £155 million between 1963–64 and 1970–71, I am aware that problems still exist. Discussions are at present under way between my Department and the associations of local authorities and teachers with a view to the preparation of a circular on the reduction of classes.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he is satisfied with the present standards of the teaching of reading and writing in primary schools; and if he will make a statement.

One can never be satisfied with standards, and I do not think teachers would claim to be satisfied. But standards are improving, and at the same time the development of new approaches to primary education are giving children much wider experiences in other directions than when the greatest emphasis was on the three Rs.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what progress-chasing he has now done on the recommendations of the Chester Committee Report on football.

I would refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave my hon. Friend the Member for Blyth (Mr. Milne) on 12th June. My discussions with the various football authorities concerned are still proceeding.—[Vol. 784, c. 279–80.]

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many chairs of acoustics are now established at universities in the United Kingdom.

The University of Southampton's Institute of Sound and Vibration has a Professor of Vibration Studies and a Professor of Applied Acoustics. Apart from that, acoustics is taught in various departments at a number of universities, but there is no other chair in the subject.

					1966–67	1967–68	1968–69
					£	£	£
Young Volunteer Force Foundation	…	…	…	…	*	11,000	35,000
Other grants: National Voluntary Youth Organisations (HQ) and experimental †					350,070	361,610	383,240
Total	…	…	…	…	350,070	372,610	418,240
* The Y.V.F.F. had not been formed in this year.
† The amount of voluntary community service undertaken by the organisations receiving these grants varies.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many teachers employed in primary, secondary and technical schools, respectively, are in receipt of a salary of less than £15 per week net; what proportion of the total staffing this represents; and what steps he is now taking to improve the salary negotiation machinery and encourage fully represented joint consultative bodies between teachers, local authorities and his Department to deal with disputes and conditions of employment.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what steps he has taken to ensure that effective sound insulation is included in the construction of schools in areas of excessive noise.

Appropriate insulation against disturbance by noise is required by the Standard for School Premises Regulations. It is the duty of the local education authority to ensure that school buildings conform to these Regulations.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether he will publish in the OFFICIAL REPORT details of grants paid by his Department to the Young Volunteer Foundation and to other voluntary community service organisations in each of the past three years; and whether he will make a statement.

Following is the information:

I have no information about teachers' net salaries. I am not proposing any change in the negotiating machinery, which already provides for arbitration in the event of disagreement. Other conditions of teaching service are negotiated direct between the local authorities' and teachers' representatives.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether, in view of the recent concern of teachers with their present salary scales, he will take steps to increase these salaries; and whether he will make a statement.

Teachers' salaries are determined by negotiation in the Burnham Committees, or by arbitration.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether he will in future require all persons under contract to the Research Council and the British Antarctic Survey to be safeguarded in respect of pensions and compensation rights in the event of death or injury while on service.

Since the British Antarctic Survey became a component body of the Natural Environment Research Council on 1st April, 1967, persons under contract to the Survey have by analogy been covered against death or injury by the provisions of the Superannuation Acts applicable to unestablished civil servants.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what criteria have to be complied with before he will give a priority allocation from minor works projects to the building of a new Roman Catholic primary school in Retford.

My right hon. Friend will have to be satisfied that there is an overall need for additional primary school places as well as a denominational need in the area. Under the Education Acts, the promoters will also have to give public notice of their proposals when they seek his formal approval.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether he will introduce legislation providing that the act of collective worship required under the terms of the Education Act, 1944, be restricted to the general school assembly.

As I understand my hon. Friend's question, this is at present the law.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what proportion the annual grants made by the Medical Research Council is spent on research involving cell, tissue and organ cultures as an alternative to experiments on laboratory animals; and if he will direct the Council to allocate an increasing proportion each year to that kind of research.

A number of the projects for which the Medical Research Council make research grants involve the development of cell, tissue and organ culture techniques which can be used as alternatives to the use of laboratory animals, but since this aspect is rarely the only purpose of the research no accurate estimate of the financial effort involved can be made. With regard to the second part of the Question, it would not be right for me to give directions to the Council. The distribution of support over the various fields of medical research is a matter for the scientific judgment of the M.R.C.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many primary schools were included in the design list for 1969–70 for Derbyshire; and whether he will increase the total funds available for this purpose from £663,515 to £800,000.

Seven. I cannot promise any increase.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what steps he is taking to accelerate the primary school building programme in North-East Essex, in view of the overcrowding, of primary schools in this area.

New primary schools already authorised in recent programmes will increase accommodation in North-East Essex. My right hon. Friend will shortly announce further projects for the area on which preliminary work may proceed in the expectation that building will start in 1971–72.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science when he expects the Haslegrave Committee to report.

The Haslegrave Committee on Technician Courses and Examinations, which is an advisory committee of the National Advisory Council on Education for Industry and Commerce, has completed its Report, and this will be considered by the Council tomorrow.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science, in view of the importance of the training of technologists, if he will seek to make this branch of the teaching profession more attractive; and if he will make a statement.

I assume that the hon. Member is thinking of the training of technologists in establishments of further education. The pay of teachers in such establishments is a matter for the Burnham Committee. Their other conditions of service are negotiated between their representatives and the local education authorities as employers.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many one-teacher, two-teacher and three-teacher schools, respectively, have been closed down in Wales in the course of the last two years.

In the two year period 1st July, 1967, to 30th June, 1969, the numbers were as follows:

1	teacher schools	13
2	teacher schools	17
3	teacher schools	4

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what percentage of schoolteachers in schools in Wales, of all grades, is married women.

In March, 1967, the latest date for which information is available, 32 per cent. of full-time teachers in maintained schools in Wales were married women.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will now give an assurance that all the teachers who are finishing their teachers training course will obtain a job in the autumn term.

I see no reason to think that any students who complete their training course satisfactorily and who are willing to go where the jobs are, need be unemployed. Last week I circulated to colleges of education, university departments of education and university appointments boards a list of 30 English and 27 Scottish local education authorities which had vacancies; the list is not exhaustive because we did not aim to cover the more specialised posts.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what progress he has made in discussions with the various athletic organisations towards implementing the recommendations of the Byers Committee.

The proposals for the re-organisation of athletics in the United Kingdom following the Byers report announced by the Secretary of the British Amateur Athletic Board in February are still being formally considered by the several governing bodies concerned. I understand that considerable progress is being made and as soon as the governing bodies have indicated their views I shall be able to resume my discussions. In the meantime officers of the Department are giving preliminary consideration to the proposals as they have evolved so far.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science in what year he expects the next new school to be opened in Burton Latimer, Northants; and for what ages of children this school will be used.

I expect the school to be open by September 1971. It will be for children aged 5–7.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science when the Stannington College of Further Education in Sheffield will now be structurally completed; and when he expects there will be sufficient funds to open, staff, and use this building which he has authorised.

The local education authority informs me that it expects the college to be completed by 31st December, 1969; and that the date of bringing the building into operation will be considered later this year in the light of the autumn term student enrolments for the authority's area.

MAINTAINED PRIMARY AND SECONDARY SCHOOLS—JANUARY, 1968
			Primary	Secondary	Primary and Secondary
Roman Catholic Schools	…	…	1,909	529	2,438
Pupils in Roman Catholic Schools:
Numbers	…	…	478,751	224,149	702,900
Percentage of all pupils in maintained schools	…	…	10·3	7·7	9·3

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether he will publish in the OFFICIAL REPORT details of the capital and current expenditure incurred by Roman Catholic primary and secondary schools during each of the past five years; how much of this expenditure was met from public funds; and how much was contributed by voluntary effort.

This information could not be obtained without undue expenditure of time and money. Some details of the central Government grant to Roman Catholic aided schools are given each year in the Department's annual report.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what progress has been made in the last three years towards the satisfactory use of university, college and school facilities accommodation during the vacations; and if he will make a statement.

Considerable use is already made of academic buildings during vacations, for research activities, postgraduate and post-experience courses, summer schools and conferences. The use of educational facilities during holidays is a matter for the responsible university, college or school authorities in the light of widely varying circumstances. The practice is already on the increase as a result of the encouragement we are

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the total number of Roman Catholic primary and secondary schools, respectively, in England and Wales; what are their approximate total numbers of pupils; and what proportion of the total school population they represent.

The information is contained in the following table:giving to the greater use of school premises and facilities by the community I hope that it will continue to expand.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will state the number of local authorities supporting vacation play groups and similar activities; and what is the estimated number of school children likely to be using such facilities during the forthcoming summer vacation.

I would refer my hon. Friend to the Answer given to my hon. Friend, the Member for Portsmouth, West (Mr. Judd) on 24th April. Since then, £150,000 has been allocated under the Urban Programme to local authorities for playgroup activities.—[Vol. 782, c. 650.]

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether he will seek to make an order giving Cranfield College of Aeronautics powers to grant university degrees; and if he will make a statement.

Such powers could be conferred by Royal Charter. A petition by the Governing Body for a Royal Charter is at present under consideration by the Privy Council. A decision will be announced as soon as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will consider making a grant-in-aid to the British Broadcasting Corporation to help defray the costs of the Corporation's education services.

The British Broadcasting Corporation has recently proposed that some of the cost of the Corporation's educational programmes should be defrayed by the Government. This proposal is being carefully examined, but I am not yet able to say what the outcome of this examination will be.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will make a further statement about the progress made towards the establishment of the Open University; and what is the estimated cost to date.

The University has received its Charter. The headquarters is being established at Milton Keynes, and work is in progress on the first stage of the buildings. Enrolments will begin in the autumn of 1970 and the University is due to start operating in January, 1971. Expenditure in 1968–69 was £130,000 and in 1969–70 is estimated at £1·7 million.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many Roman Catholic children from Birkenhead have entered St. Anselm's School and St. Hugh's academic stream, respectively, during each of the past five years; and how many Roman Catholic boys entered other academic schools or streams in the borough during each of those five years.

The figures are as follows:

	St. Anselm's	St. Hugh's	Blessed Edward Campion	Other
1965	33	11	None	27
1966	34	15	None	12
1967	33	8	None	19
1968	40	31	16	None
1969	30	48	21	2

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether, in the light of the Report of the Royal Commission on Local Government, he will now seek powers to refuse applications for excepted district status.

I do not intend to seek separate powers in advance of the Government's consideration of the reorganisation of local government. The future of excepted districts is part of this wider question on which my right hon. Friend the Minister of Housing and Local Government has begun consultations in the light of the report of the Redcliffe-Maud Commission.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science to what extent it is the policy of his Department to intervene in the purchase for the National Gallery of individual paintings; and how much public money will be expended for this purpose.

The purchasing policy of the National Gallery is the responsibility of the Trustees, and I do not intervene. The National Gallery, like all the national institutions, is of course supported from public funds and receives a grant-in-aid for the purchase of pictures. Where, in individual cases, the Trustees wish to make a purchase which they cannot finance wholly out of their own resources, it is open to them to apply to the Department for help through a special purchase grant.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will take steps to ensure that school holidays and industrial holidays involving the Spring Bank Holiday are adequately co-ordinated.

I refer the hon. Member to my reply to his similar Question this afternoon.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many primary and secondary schools in Derbyshire lack indoor washing and lavatory facilities.

The local authority have informed me that the washing facilities at 4 primary schools are outside and that the lavatories at 279 primary schools and 22 secondary schools are wholly or mainly outside.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether he will review the financial assistance available to prospective drama students with a view to providing Government help where local authorities follow a policy of refusing grants to those selected for National Youth Theatre training.

While many local education authorities do make grants to students on these courses, they do so entirely at their own discretion, and I cannot intervene.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether, in view of the recent increase in drowning accidents, he will issue further appeals on the lines of that made on the eve of the Spring Bank Holiday in order to make holidaymakers more aware of the risks they run if they ignore the dangers of open waters.

Yes.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if, in view of the fact that water safety filmlets available to the British Broadcasting Corporation and independent television companies can rarely be shown free, he will take steps to provide money for paid television time and Press advertising as is done for road safety.

Water safety filler films were shown by the B.B.C. and the independent television companies over 1,000 times during the twelve months ending 31st May. I am not therefore convinced of the need for expenditure on television advertising time, but I shall keep this, and the possibility of Press advertising, in mind.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps will be taken in the autumn to draw attention to the fact that young persons aged 16 years 8½ months and upwards should be included in the returns to electoral registration officers for inclusion on the electoral register which will be valid from 16th February, 1970 to 15th February, 1971.

National publicity—particularly through the Press, television and sound broadcasting—will make a particular point of the eligibility for registration of new age groups following the passage of the Representation of the People Act, 1969. Electoral registration officers will be asked to do the same locally.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many representations he has received concerning charges made by prison laundries in competing for contract work with private firms; and what reply he has sent.

Since January, 1968, representations have been received from two sources, about three such contracts. Assurances have been given that fair market prices are quoted.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will seek power to have a register made of all private agencies offering protection of life and property, and of the numbers of men employed by them.

No. My right hon. Friend does not think that would be justified.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will introduce legislation to deal with canvassing by prospective publishers of pornographic, obscene and sexual literature now being widely publicised, in view of the fact that police authorities already possess powers to institute proceedings when such publications are actually disseminated.

No.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department, in view of the representations made by the Advertising Standards Authority concerning circulars about pornographic literature, if he will take proceedings to prevent further pornographic circulars from being issued by The Julian Press of 16, Curzon Street, London, W.1, including the warning concerning "Variations on a Sexual Theme", posted to constituents of the hon. Member for Worcestershire, South.

My right hon. Friend has not received any representations from the Advertising Standards Authority. It is not for him to take criminal proceedings.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners have escaped from the top security prison at Blundeston in the last five years; how many have escaped from other top security prisons or from top security wings in other prisons during the same period; and how many of them were serving sentences for crimes of violence.

Blundeston is not used for prisoners in the highest security category.Since 1st January, 1964, 14 prisoners have escaped from the prison, four of whom were serving sentences for crimes of violence. In the same period, one prisoner, who had been convicted of crimes of violence, escaped from a special security wing.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will request the Commissioner of Police to put extra traffic police on duty to mini- mise road congestion when Royal Garden parties take place at Buckingham Palace.

The Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis has standing arrangements for substantial reinforcement of the police on traffic duty on these occasions.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he is aware of the hooliganism on late night trains on the District Line out to Upminster particularly at weekends; and whether he will refer this matter to the conference of Home Office, Metropolitan Police and employers' and union representatives.

The Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis tells me that the Metropolitan police are doing all they can to help the British Transport police to cope with these incidents. I do not at present contemplate a further discussion on the lines explained in my reply to a Question by my hon. Friend the Member for Harrow, East (Mr. Roebuck) on 3rd July, but I shall continue to watch the position.—[Vol. 786, c. 128.]

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Rover 3·5 litre motor cars are used by the Metropolitan Police.

Five.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many attempted murders have been known to the police in each of the last five years.

The figures for England and Wales for the respective years are 1964, 200; 1965, 207; 1966. 268; 1967, 245; 1968, 281.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what has been the cost so far of the policemen in Anguila.

I would refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 15th July to his Question to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs.—[Vol. 787, c. 67.]

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will set up an independent comission to consider new evidence concerning the case of Peter Barnes, executed in 1939.

No. I have seen a recent article in the Press about the 1939 Coventry explosion, but I cannot find anything in that article, nor am I aware of any new evidence elsewhere, to suggest that there is a case for re-examining the circumstances of the offence for which Peter Barnes was convicted.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the expenditure per head of the population on the police, probation and aftercare service, and prisons respectively, in 1964 and at the most recent available date.

The information for England and Wales is as follows:

EXPENDITURE PER HEAD OF POPULATION
Year	Police			Probation and aftercare		Prison service
	£	s.	d.	s.	d.	s.	d.
1964–65	3	14	5	2	7	11	5
1968–69*	5	3	3	4	0	16	7
* Forecast expenditure.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations his Department has received from the honourable Members for Manchester, Openshaw (Mr. Charles R. Morris), Exchange (Mr. Will Griffiths), Gorton (Mr. Marks) and Wythenshawe, concerning the incidence of crime involving the use of violence in the City of Manchester; and when he expects to reply to these representations.

My hon. Friend came on 10th July, with two of the hon. Members he mentions, to discuss with me the incidence and causes of crimes of violence in Manchester. As agreed, I am having the relevant statistics examined and I shall write to my hon. Friend and his hon. Friends when this study is complete.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions Her Majesty's Government have held in the last two years with the British Council of Churches, with a view to establishing a fixed Easter Bank Holiday and a fixed Spring Bank Holiday at Whitsun; what representations have now been received from the World and British Councils of Churches and if he will now take a further initiative.

Consultations about a fixed Easter are continuing between the Secretariat on Faith and Order of the World Council of Churches and the Roman Catholic Secretariat for Unity; and I understand that it is hoped to arrange a meeting in the near future. I am awaiting the outcome of the consultations.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department why the Metropolitan Police took no action on a recent occasion when a number of people were wearing uniforms in public, some wearing swastikas, Nazi helmets and other emblems sewn on to and affixed to uniforms, prima facie in contravention of the Public Order and Uniforms Acts.

The Public Order Act, 1936, prohibits the wearing of uniform for political purposes and the Uniforms Act, 1894, prohibits the wearing of the uniform of Her Majesty's military forces. Prosecution is not a matter for my right hon. Friend: but the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis tells me that there was no evidence of a breach of either of these provisions by members of the audience at the concert in Hyde Park on 5th July.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether, in view of the growing problem of all aspects of drug taking, he will appoint a committee of high ranking police officers, churchmen, social welfare workers, doctors, lawyers and representatives of the drugs trade to go into all aspects of this problem and to report on measures to strengthen the law on the sale and distribution of drugs.

The Standing Advisory Committee on Drug Dependence under the chairmanship of Sir Edward Wayne was appointed in 1967 to keep this problem under review and advise on remedial measures.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether, in view of the recent attempts of the Mafia to take over control of Great Britain's gambling and gaming casinos, using the profits for purposes including the drug trade and transferring them to overseas banking accounts, he will introduce further legislation to control gaming and gambling.

No. The Gaming Act, 1968 was designed as a protection against the infiltration of criminal interests into casinos, and I have no reason to suppose that its provisions are inadequate.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action the police took on the 15 complaints which they received about a noisy party held on 3rd–4th July; and whether the nuisance caused by noise ceased when the police took the action.

Police officers went to the house on several occasions. They were not entirely successful in stopping the nuisance.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he is aware that official and non-official cars are regularly being parked outside his office in Whitehall on a banned area for periods in excess of 20 minutes; and, as there are sufficient parking facilities in the rear of his office and adjoining Whitehall, if he will issue an instruction to those of his staff concerned that they should observe the law.

The enforcement of the law is a matter for the Commissioner of Police. All Home Office staff concerned are aware of the ban on parking in Whitehall.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will give details of the results of the four police reports submitted to the licensing authority since 11th April, 1969, concerning the absence of a road fund licence for the Jaguar car 326 EYV of 50 Frobisher Road, London, N.8, indicating the dates of any prosecution and the amounts of any fines imposed.

Action taken upon the reports is a matter for the licensing authority, which, I understand, has informed my hon. Friend. that arising out of the first and second reports the court imposed fines of £10 and made orders for £1 costs and one month's back duty on each of two charges. I have no information about action taken following the other reports.

asked the Secretary of State for Economic Affairs whether he will make a statement on his policy in relation to subparagraph V of the first paragraph of the section on conclusions of the Report of the Select Committee on Agriculture of February last which refers to his Department.

The policy of my Department in this, as in other matters, is to seek the best use of our national resources. We believe that the best use includes the Government's agricultural expansion programme, which is expected to achieve import saving of some £160 million by 1972–73.

asked the Secretary of State for Economic Affairs whether the Government has yet reached conclusions on the National Port Council's proposals in respect of new maritime industrial development areas; and if he will make a statement.

A report by Sir William Halcrow and Partners, consultant engineers—commissioned by the National Ports Council in co-operation with the Government Departments concerned—has already established that there are a number of sites where such developments would be physically feasible. The sites in question were (from north to south):

• Cromarty Firth
• Outer Firth of Tay
• Upper Firth of Forth
• Tees Estuary
• Lune Estuary
• Humberside
• The Wash
• Cardiff-Newport
• Thames-Medway
• Weston-super-Mare-Clevendon:

and a separate study has shown the Clyde Estuary also to meet the necessary physical criteria. The Government have now initiated a further series of studies, with the object of assessing the industrial implications, and the economic costs and benefits, of undertaking such development.Maritime industrial development areas would comprise complexes of bulk processing and associated industries alongside new major port facilities. Similar industrial complexes have been, or are being, established at a number of centres in countries abroad. It is obviously important that we should consider most carefully the possible contribution that maritime industrial development areas might make to the greater efficiency and competitive power of the British economy.

asked the Postmaster-General whether he has now investigated the factors which cause delay to first class mail in the Romsey area.

We have received no recent complaint about delay to first class mail in the Romsey area, but if the hon. and gallant Member knows of any delay and will let me have details I will gladly look into the matter.

asked the Postmaster-General, in the Post Office at the most recent convenient date in 1969, what were the total numbers of employees of all grades, the aggregate value of capital assets including land and buildings, the annual income and expenditure, and the commercial or industrial activities other than the carriage and distribution of Her Majesty's mail and the operation of telecommunications, giving for each separate activity the value of assets employed and the number of employees.

Most of the information will be published in a few weeks' time in the Post Office Report and Accounts for 1968–69. But in, for example, the operation of the postal and money order services it is not possible to separate the value of the assets or the number of employees.

asked the Postmaster-General how long the Fylingdales Early Warning Station was inoperative on or about 14th July; why the fault was not able to he repaired on the spot; how long it took the Post Office engineers to get to the Station after they had been called in; and how long it took them to repair the fault.

The Fylingdales Early Warning Station was not inoperative at any time on or about 14th July. By agreement with the union, Post Office engineers were in continuous attendance to repair any fault which might have occurred.

asked the Postmaster-General when the present interest for deposits in the Post Office Savings Bank was first estblished at 2½ per cent. per annum; and on the basis of the then purchasing power of 6d., by how much he estimates the 2½ per cent. per annum requires to be increased to restore the present 6d. in the £ to its original purchasing value.

1861. The current value in terms of purchasing power of 6d. in 1861 is 2 shillings 8·73 pence.

asked the Postmaster-General how many post offices are now displaying work by amateur artists; and whether he will make a statement about the progress of the scheme to show their work.

174. Since the scheme started in 1967 over 5,000 works by some 1,500 artists have been displayed.

asked the Postmaster-General whether he will consult with property developers, public authorities and others planning large buildings on opportunities to extend the system of automatic collection of mail direct to post offices on a basis of pipeline installations.

We have considered and rejected this idea in the past. The technical problems are formidable and the economics very doubtful.

asked the Postmaster-General whether he will investigate why a first class letter posted on 8th July in Enfield, Middlesex. to another part of Enfield approximately three miles away was not delivered until 10th July although the recipient telephoned the sorting office, Palmers Green, on the morning of 9th July describing the letter and urgently requesting its delivery and why an identical letter sent on 9th July was delivered on 10th July.

Yes.

asked the Postmaster-General if he is satisfied that, after the transfer of postal responsibilities for the Channel Islands to Jersey and Guernsey on 1st October next, the smaller islands will not be deprived of their present rights to send and receive mail; and if he will make a statement.

The States of Jersey and Guernsey have expressed a wish to take over postal services within the Channel Islands from 1st October next. Discussions about this are now taking place, and I cannot anticipate the out- come, but I have no reason to doubt that if agreement were reached on that basis the States would make suitable arrangements for the smaller islands.

asked the Postmaster-General if he is aware of the incidence of delays in improving telephone installations in the City of Norwich; and what action he is now taking to meet the situation.

Of the four exchanges serving Norwich, two have spare capacity to meet growth but Main and North exchanges are currently loaded to capacity. There is no waiting list on North at the moment, and additional equipment which is being installed there should be ready for use in November. This will allow any waiting list which may have developed by that time to be cleared. No further serious difficulties are expected to develop in any exchange but Norwich Main.Our plans for meeting the rapid growth of telephone service in Norwich were based on developing the present Main exchange site, but since 1965 there have been difficulties in reaching agreement with the city council. Modified planning permission, for small extensions only, has now been given and building is expected to start in June 1970. The extension is expected to be completed and ready for service in 1973. In the meantime, and to bridge the gap, we have had to revise our plans and to adopt a series of expedients. Unfortunately, these allow us much smaller working margins and there will be a risk that the trunk switching equipment may be overloaded at times; therefore, although we shall do our best to avoid serious delays, it is likely that from time to time up to 1973, we will not be able to provide service for all new customers—particularly residential service—as quickly as we would wish.There are 154—132 residence and 22 business—people waiting for telephones at present, but we hope to meet the 22 applications for business lines during July. We expect that the incidence of cessations will enable us to go on meeting business orders within a few weeks of receiving them and also to give service to some residence cases. Some additional equipment will become available at the Main exchange in January 1970, and we shall then be able to provide service for most, if not all, of the waiting applicants.

asked the Postmaster-General why, when the hon. Member for Warwick and Leamington rang directory inquiries from the House of Commons at 9 p.m. on 7th July and gave the full name of a resident in Hockley Heath, Warwickshire, the operator refused to help unless given the full address and put the telephone down.

I regret that the hon. Member had difficultly. Normally a number can be traced when the full name and sufficient address information is given to identify precisely the person required.

asked the Postmaster-General whether he is aware that the telephone service no longer provides an adequate directory inquiry service for subscribers and that the attendants are brusque and unhelpful; and what he proposes to do to improve the situation.

No. We aim to provide an efficient and helpful directory inquiry service, and as I said in reply to the hon. Member's Question on 10th July, there are relatively few complaints. We continue to improve the service while containing costs.x2014;[Vol. 786, c. 315.]

asked the Postmaster-General why it took from 13th June until 29th June for him to reply to communications about telephone facilities he received from Contractco Overseas Containers Limited and the hon. Member for West Ham, North, respectively; and whether the recent statement made by a Post Office official on this matter was made with his authority.

Detailed investigations were necessary and the time taken to reply is reasonable. Authority for local Press statements is delegated to local officers. I do not authorise personally every Press statement made.

asked the Postmaster-General in the British Broadcasting Corporation at the most recent convenient date in 1969, what were the total numbers of employees of all grades, the aggregate value of capital assets, including land and buildings, the annual income and expenditure, and the activities other than production and distribution of radio or television programmes.

This information will be set out in the B.B.C.'s Report and Accounts 1968–69 which will be published later this year.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment and Productivity how many ex-miners are still unemployed as a result of pit closures in Warwickshire during the past five years.

On 9th June, 1969, out of a total of 376 men last employed in the coalmining industry who were registered as unemployed at employment exchanges in Warwickshire, 301 were unemployed through colliery closures. In addition, there were 185 men last employed in coalmining registered as unemployed at Tamworth, including 133 unemployed through colliery closures, some of whom may have been affected by the closure of a colliery in June, 1968, which, although in the Tamworth employment exchange area, is situated in Warwickshire.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment and Productivity how many hours have been lost in unofficial strikes since the undertakings were given by the Trades Union Congress to co-operate in preventing such strikes; and how many hours were lost in unofficial strikes in the comparable period before these undertakings were given.

I would refer the hon. Member to the replies I gave to similar Questions from the hon. Members for Torquay (Sir F. Bennett) and Dorking (Sir G. Sinclair) on 15th July.—[Vol. 787, c. 69.]

asked the Secretary of State for Employment and Productivity if she will give the percentages of unemployed registered at the Mexborough and Wombwell Employment Exchanges at the latest available date; and, in view of the fact that the numbers of unemployed are now being further increased due to the declared redundancies at the firm of Hattersley Brothers, Swinton, if she will make a statement on the action she intends to take to find work for these unemployed people.

At 9th June, 1969, the percentage rate of unemployment for the Mexborough travel-to-work area was 5·4 and for the Wombwell travel-to-work area 4·1. The employment exchanges are doing all they can to find work for unemployed people in these areas. Arrangements have already been made to interview workers affected by the redundancy at Hattersley Brothers, and we are already in touch with employers who are interested in them.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment and Productivity what was the aggregate number of persons of all grades directly employed by local authorities at 1st July, 1969, or the nearest convenient date in 1969.

Information for June 1969 is not yet available. At June 1968 there were 2,286,831 persons employed by local authorities or in police forces in Great Britain.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment and Productivity if she will publish as a normal routine the age analysis of wholly unemployed in the Bideford Employment Exchange area month by month to give a complete picture of the position.

No. Detailed age analyses of the registered wholly un- employed are made in January and July only. Information for local areas is available on request but there is insufficient space in the Employment and Productivity Gazette to publish more than the national and regional figures.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment and Productivity in view of the heavy unemployment figure of elderly people in the Bideford area, what steps she proposes to assist them into employment so as to reduce the number of unemployed and fill vacancies in the new factories.

It is the longstanding practice of our local officers to attempt to persuade employers who impose an upper age limit when notifying their labour requirements to consider people on their merits and ability to do the job rather than on their age.Every opportunity will continue to be taken to bring to the notice of both existing employers and any others setting up new establishments in the Bideford area the availability of older persons who are suitable for the vacancies notified.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment and Productivity whether the Government's decision to give increases in salary to the higher paid civil servants on the grounds that they have not had increases for some years and that the proposed awards fall within the Government's incomes policy of a 3½ per cent. increase per annum will now be applied to all wage and salary earners.

Increases not only must be within the ceiling of 3½ per cent. applied as an annual rate since the last increase but must also satisfy the criteria of the White Paper on Productivity, Prices and Incomes Policy. The grounds for the increase to the Higher Civil Service were explained by my right hon. Friend the Paymaster General in a reply to a Written Question on 11th July.—[Vol. 786, c. 320–2.]

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the progress of the closure of the residual British Mission in Rhodesia.

The Head of the British Residual Mission in Salisbury and all except three of the United Kingdom-based staff left Rhodesia on 10th July. The remainder left on 14th July.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the Government's policy towards increasing the number of exchange programmes between younger businessmen, trade unionists, professional men and educationists and their counterparts in the member states of the European Economic Community.

I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply of my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State to the hon. Member for Lewisham, South (Mr. Carol Johnson) on 9th June. Her Majesty's Government believe exchanges of this kind between young people with common career or professional motivations to be a very valuable form of youth interchange.— [Vol. 784, c. 183–4.]

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will consider issuing free passports to persons under the age of 21 years in order to encourage travel between young people in the United Kingdom and the continent of Europe; and what is the estimated cost of such a facility to the Exchequer.

It would not be financially feasible to do so, and reasonable special facilities already exist.The estimated cost to the Exchequer of such a facility would not be less than £600,000 a year, and could be in excess of £1,000,000, at least in the first year.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether there has recently been any change in the regulations under which temporary travel documents are issued to East Germans for travel to North Atlantic Treaty Organisation countries; and if he will make a statement.

The three Powers responsible for the Allied Travel Office, the Americans, French and ourselves, last month, after consideration in the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, adopted new rules for the issuing of temporary travel documents consisting of a liberalisation of the rules formerly in force. As a result, the exceptional cases in which travel facilities were not given in the past—less than one in a hundred in the case of travel to this country—should become even fewer.We regard this liberalisation as being in line with the desire of the member Governments of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, reaffirmed most recently at Washington on the 11th of April, to work for real progress in improving relations between East and West.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he intends to publish the Duncan Report on the reorganisation of the Diplomatic Service; and if he will make a statement.