asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government by how much he estimates acquisition by the Land Commission of building land in areas of high demand will reduce its price during 1969 and 1970; and whether he will make a statement.

This cannot be estimated, but as the Commission brings more land on to the market it will help to stabilise land prices.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government to what date and upon what terms the tenure of office of the Chairman of the Land Commission has been extended.

Sir Henry Wells has said that personal commitments would make it difficult for him to continue as chairman for long beyond the expiry of his appointment. With regret, and with Sir Henry's full understanding I have decided against a further period of appointment beyond February.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government by how many persons within the last year the staff of the Southern Regional Office of the Land Commission at Reading has been reduced; and what further reductions are envisaged in the light of the First, Second and Third Reports from the Committee of Public Accounts, Session 1968–69.

18, equivalent to a 20 per cent, reduction. The review of staffing is continuing, but it is too early to estimate the precise effect on individual offices.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government whether, in the light of the First, Second and Third Reports from the Committee of Public Accounts, Session 1968–69, he will reduce the size of the Land Commission by dispensing with the services of Lord Mais.

The reports of the Public Accounts Committee contain no reference to the membership of the Land Commission. As announced on 9th September, Lord Mais, in accordance with an arrangement made some months ago, has resigned from the Commission on his election as Sheriff for the City of London, and Mr. Maurice Hackett, O.B.E., has been appointed to fill the vacancy. I am glad to have this opportunity of expressing the thanks of the Government to Lord Mais for his valuable services as a member of the Commission.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government for what period Sir Harold Samuel was originally appointed to serve as a member of the Land Commission.

Three years from 15th February, 1967.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government how much land in the Greater London area has been made available for housebuilding by the Land Commission since its inception; and how much of such land the Commission expects to make available in the coming year.

Very little land is available for development in Greater London, but the Commission has bought 188 acres at Hornchurch, a small area of which is under negotiation for sale to a housebuilder. The remainder will be sold after the extraction of gravel. A further area is likely to be bought and sold in the coming year.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government whether he will now make a statement on the progress of his studies of the proposals for compensation for compulsory purchase submitted to him by the Chartered Lands Society; and on what date he received these proposals from the Society.

The Chartered Land Societies' proposal; were sent to my right hon. Friend on 27th November, 1967; but they raise complex and difficult problems affecting many Government Departments, and consideration of them is bound to take time. I am well aware of the general concern about these questions, but I regret that I am not yet ready to make a statement.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government (1) why he has refused loan sanction for the development of Luton Road Recreation Ground and Stage IV, Moor Park, Blackpool;(2) whether he is aware that if the projected development of Luton Road Recreation Ground and Stage IV, Moor Park, Blackpool, are not undertaken this winter as a result of the refusal of loan sanction the cost to the Corporation will be about £20,000 for employees who may do no productive work; and whether he will reconsider his decision to refuse loan sanction.

In the interests of the economy it is still necessary to exercise severe restraint on capital investment in the public sector. This means that if more essential schemes are to go forward some desirable but less urgent schemes must be held back. I recognise that deferment of these recreational schemes will mean some redeployment of the corporation's programme of works, but they have been aware of the need for this for some time now.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government what was the total value of unoccupied office property notified to his Department at the latest convenient date; what was the value of rates levied thereon; and what were the corresponding figures 12 months ago.

I regret that this information is not available.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government by what date he has asked local authority associations and other interested bodies to submit to him their comments on the report of the working party on housing revenue accounts.

My right hon. Friend has already received preliminary comments on the report from the local authority associations. The report will be considered further as part of the longer term review of housing finance.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government when he expects to be able to announce the results of his attempts to find a method of dispensing with detailed loan sanction for local authority capital projects.

Outline proposals are with the local authority associations, and discussions between officials are expected to start soon. It may be some months before results can be announced.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government whether he is satisfied with the adequacy of the arrangements relating to development by Government Departments set out in Circular 100 dated 7th December, 1950; and whether he will make a statement.

In general the arrangements under Circular 100 have proved satisfactory over the years. But we are discussing improvements with other Government Departments and the local authority associations and a new circular will be issued shortly.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government what proposals he has for further improvement of the compensation rights of individuals affected by public authorities' road, housing or other development schemes.

As has already been announced, we are at present engaged on a general review of compensation which covers this problem.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government whether he will make a statement on the collection of refuse in the London area.

The unofficial strike of refuse collectors in London and certain other towns and cities occurred at a time when pay increases for all local government manual workers were under negotiation by their National Joint Council. The negotiations resulted in an agreement last Thursday which provided for substantial increases for the men concerned and the unions are advising their members to return to work. I understand that this advice has been accepted by the men in a number of local authorities both in London and the provinces and I very much hope that the rest will recognise that they have secured a just settlement and return to work as quickly as possible, so that further inconvenience to the public can be avoided.Although, I am advised that there is at present no danger to public health, my medical advisers will continue to keep in touch with the situation in those boroughs still affected by the strike.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government what additional powers he proposes to enable local authorities to deal effectively with abandonment or partial abandonment, structural decay or lack of reasonable maintenance in respect of industrial or commercial buildings or land.

Local authorities already have wide powers. My right hon. Friend is not convinced that additional powers are required, but he will keep this matter under review.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government if he will make a statement on the findings of the Chester Committee which were presented in May, 1968, as a detailed appraisal of the form and structure of Association Football at all levels in Great Britain.

The majority of the recommendations of the Chester Committee were for action by the football authorities. The recommendations which involve possible Government action con- cern important matters of principle and I cannot say when it will be possible to reach a decision on them. I have been engaged in discussions with the bodies concerned and these are continuing.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government if he will seek the advice of the Law Commission with a view to repealing the Forcible Entry Acts of 1381 and 1623 and at the same time introducing a new Bill clarifying the rights of property owners to deal with squatters.

My right hon. Friend is considering this whole question in consultation with the Lord Chancellor and the Secretary of State for the Home Department, but is not yet in a position to make a statement.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government how many direct labour organisation building schemes to be carried out by local authorities, each involving an estimated expenditure in excess of £100,000, have been approved during the last five years; what is the aggregate of the estimated costs of all such schemes; and by what percentage have the actual costs, to the latest dates to which figures are available, varied from such estimates.

I regret that this information is not available and could not be obtained at reasonable expense.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government if he will seek to ensure that the working party on sewage disposal has an opportunity to consider the results of his Department's questionnaire on trade effluent disposal costs before it reports, and that the Department's analysis will show the costs incurred by each of the major discharging industries.

The working party hopes to present its report within the next few months and I should not want the working party to delay it if the replies to the questionnaire, which is part of the Rivers Pollution Survey, are not received soon enough. But I shall certainly see that the working party has the results if they are ready in time. The Department's report on the survey will show the trade effluent disposal costs incurred by each category of industry.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government what representations he has received with regard to the introduction of temporary legislation to suspend further rerating of certain types of agricultural buildings; and what action he is proposing to take.

As was explained on 24th July in reply to a Question from the hon. Member for North Angus and Mearns (Mr. Buchanan-Smith), representations on this subject had been received from the National Farmers' Union and discussed with them. We reached the conclusion that change in the rating law in regard to agricultural buildings in England and Wales is not warranted in advance of the reorganisation of local government.—[Vol 787, c. 481–2.]

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government if he will undertake a nationwide survey to establish the number of people who are homeless by the definitions outlined in the Shelter Report entitled Face the Facts, a copy of which has been sent to him.

We have already collected a great deal of information about a wide variety of housing conditions. It is indeed some of these figures which are used in the report to which the hon. Member refers. The national figures obtained in 1967 are being supplemented by conurbation surveys. More important still, people are being rehoused from the slums faster than ever before, and we now have the Housing Act 1969 which makes wider powers and more money available for improvement and repair.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government what is the present acreage and the capital value of land at present unusable as a result of industrial processes and what were the acreage and capital value of such land in 1967.

The survey of derelict land carried out by local planning authorities in England shows a total of 93,920 acres at 31st December, 1968 of which 58,285 acres were thought to justify restoration. The figures for 31st December, 1967 were 92,643 and 56,841 acres. The comparison is vitiated by differences in local authorities' classification. The capital values are not known.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government if he will seek powers to enable him to assume responsibility for council house building and allocation in respect of those local authorities who fail to provide adequate new housing having regard to local needs.

I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave today to my hon. Friend the Member for Bedfordshire, South (Mr. Gwilym Roberts).

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government how many new houses have been completed to the latest date available for the past 12 months; and how this compares with figures for the previous three years.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government if he will state the number of houses completed so far this year compared with the corresponding period in each of the last two years; and what measures he proposes to take to reverse the decline since last year.

In the twelve months ending August, 1969, 381,000 houses were completed in Great Britain. For the comparable periods ending August 1966, 1967 and 1968 the figures were 382,000, 393,000 and 419,000, respectively. I am sorry to say that the local authorities for some areas recognised as areas of priority housing need have been relaxing their efforts to meet this need. I am inviting these authorities to discuss their programmes with me.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government what areas have reached a surplus in housing; and if he will allocate elsewhere any surplus allocations not being taken up by local authorities.

In a number of places outside London and the industrial conurbations the combined stock of publicly and privately owned houses already slightly exceeds the number of households, but I believe that a margin of some 5 per cent. is required in each area for the ordinary working of the housing market, and to allow for mobility. Furthermore much of the housing stock is obsolescent or unfit. Where an authority does not take up its allocation, I reallocate the surplus whenever possible.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government if he will seek to increase the priority for housing in the Government spending programme, in view of widespread concern underlined by the Shelter Report entitled "Face the Facts", a copy of which has been sent to him.

No limitations have been placed on councils wishing to build new dwellings in pressure areas or on local authority expenditure under the terms of the 1969 Housing Act, which is designed to attack precisely the problems highlighted in the Ministry own publications and other reports.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government how many houses in the public sector he expects to be completed in the county borough of Sunderland in 1969 and what were the corresponding figures for 1967 and 1968.

Sunderland County Borough Council completed 1,519 houses in 1967 and 804 in 1968. Up to the end of August, 1969, it had completed 607 houses and had under construction a further 626, of which 130 were started during 1969. I am not in a position to say how many of these will be completed before the end of the year.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government how many unfit houses it is estimated there are in the county borough of Sunderland; how many unfit houses are expected to be cleared in 1969; and what was the average number of houses cleared annually during the past three years.

The local authority estimate that there are some 1,500 unfit houses in Sunderland. Two hundred and fifty-eight were dealt with in the first six months of 1969, and it is expected that this rate of clearance will be maintained for the rest of the year. The average number cleared annually in Sunderland during the past three years is 463.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government how many cases have been brought to his attention during the last 12 months of applicants for local authority housing otherwise entitled thereto being disqualified solely on grounds of poverty; what was the number of such persons for the period from October, 1967, to October, 1968; and if he will make a statement.

I am not aware of any case in which a local authority have decided not to offer a tenancy to someone in the circumstances to which my hon. Friend refers. Housing authorities are statutorily required to give reasonable preference to persons who are occupying insanitary or overcrowded houses, have large families, or are living under unsatisfactory housing conditions. I will gladly look into any cases my hon. Friend may have in mind.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government if he will call for returns of the numbers of empty dwellings owned by local authorities, nationalised industries and private persons, respectively.

Returns of vacant dwellings are collected at each Census. I have asked local authorities in London to take special steps to secure better use of empty houses owned by them, and am prepared to consider similar action in other areas of serious pressure. But I do not think a requirement on all local authorities to make frequent returns of this nature will repay the effort and expense involved.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government how many applications were made to the rent

APPLICATIONS FOR REGISTRATION OF FAIR RENTS: LONDON BOROUGH OF WANDSWORTH
Table 1			1966	1967
Applications Received*
			3rd January to 31st December	1st January to 31st December
			Numbers of Applications for Registration
Applications received from:
(i) Tenants	…	…	319	98
(ii) Landlords	…	…	215	349
(iii) Tenants and Landlords jointly			180	120
Totals	…	…	714	567
Applications withdrawn or not entertained	…	…	123	65
Net Totals—applications received	…	…	591	502

Table 2			Comparison of Registered Rents with previous Rents Numbers of Cases in which Rent previously payable was:
Rent Officers' Determinations*
			Reduced	Unchanged	Increased	Total	Reduced	Unchanged	Increased	Total
Applications made by:
(i) Tenants	…	…	111	50	24	185	74	9	27	110
(ii) Landlords	…	…	4	8	75	87	8	27	315	350
(iii) Tenants and Landlords jointly			8	85	42	135	11	78	50	139
Totals	…	…	123	143	141	407	93	114	392	599

Table 1			1968	1969
Applications Received*			1st January to 31st December	1st January to 26th September
			Numbers of Applications for Registration
Applications received from:
(i) Tenants	…	…	90	77
(ii) Landlords	…	…	405	493
(iii) Tenants and Landlords jointly			122	112
Totals	…	…	617	682
Applications withdrawn or not entertained			63	67
Net Totals—applications received			554	615

Comparison of Registered Rents with previous Rents Numbers of Cases in which Rent previously payable was:
Table 2
Rent Officers' Determinations*			Reduced	Unchanged	Increased	Total	Reduced	Unchanged	Increased	Total
Applications made by:
(i) Tenants	…	…	42	11	3	56	49	5	8	62
(ii) Landlords	…	…	11	90	292	393	17	70	370	457
(iii) Tenants and Landlords jointly			18	23	67	108	5	36	60	101
Totals	…	…	71	124	362	557	71	111	438	620
* Numbers of applications received and of determinations made do not, of course, agree since determinations are not necessarily made in the year of applications.

The information, obtained from the Rent Office, is as follows:

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government whether he has made representations to the Liverpool City Council regarding the safety of high-rise flats built by the Liverpool City Council; what action the City Council is taking; and if he will make a statement.

The Liverpool City Council, in common with other local authorities in England, received advice from my right hon. Friend last November on the action they should take in the light of the report of the Tribunal of Inquiry into the accident at Ronan Point. So far my right hon. Friend has received no intimation from the City Council that they have acted on this advice.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government on what criteria he decides against allowing local authority rent increases where such decisions will result in an increase in the rate subsidy for council houses.

Each decision is taken on a consideration of the particular circumstances of the local authority's housing finance and in most cases it has been possible to keep average rent increases within 7s. 6d. a week in any 12-month period without any need to increase the rate fund contribution.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government whether he will cause an investigation to be made as to why on several occasions the hon. Member for West Ham, North was given false information by his Department concerning the invention of Mr. V. G. White to prevent explosions in tower blocks, and why many weeks elapsed before action was taken in connection with this matter.

My hon. Friend has not been misinformed. He was told that the Fire Research Station would be asked to advise on this device and this was done.

asked the Secretary of State for Local Government and Regional Planning what studies he has made of the Harry Teggin proposals for the drainage of The Wash and the building of a Wash city to include harbour and major airport developments, a copy of which has been sent to him; and what action he proposes to take.

Mr. Teggin's report was carefully studied when it was received earlier this year, but, as the Secretary of State for Economic Affairs indicated in a letter at the time, the next step must be to await the completion very soon of the Wash Desk Study by the Water Resources Board.

asked the Secretary of State for Local Government and Regional Planning if he is aware of the concern of interested bodies such as local authorities and the Outdoor Advertising Council on the time permitted for consideration of the proposals concerned with the reorganisation of local government and regulations for the control of advertisements; and whether he will co-ordinate the activities of the Government Departments involved with a view to ensuring equitable arrangements.

I consider the timetable proposed in each of the cases referred to by the hon. Member as reasonable and practicable. We need to reach decisions and there has already been wide discussion of these issues.

asked the Secretary of State for Local Government and Regional Planning how many representations he has received asking for an extension of the period he has proposed for receipt of local authority views on the Maud Report; and what action he intends to take thereon.

asked the Secretary of State for Local Government and Regional Planning whether he will allow further time for the local authority organizations to submit to him their reactions to the implications of the Redcliffe-Maud Report.

I do not think it necessary to extend the period for comments. 178 requests for an extension were received but mostly some time ago. It is already clear that I shall have all local authority views by the end of this month or immediately after.

asked the Secretary of State for Local Government and Regional Planning what studies he is making of methods of broadening the base of the local government taxation system; and if he will make a statement.

asked the Secretary of State for Local Government and Regional Planning whether, in considering the Redcliffe-Maud Report, he will bear in mind the possibility of the substitution of the rating system by less regressive methods of local taxation.

The method of financing local government is one of the matters being studied as part of the consideration of the Report of the Royal Commission on Local Government in England.

asked the Secretary of State for Local Government and Regional Planning whether he will now introduce the measures necessary for making provision for the adequate remuneration of those elected members of local authorities with duties of an executive character requiring a substantial amount of time for their discharge.

As I told the hon. Member for Orpington (Mr. Lubbock) in reply to his Question yesterday, the whole question of pay and allowances for members of local authorities is under review in the context of local government reorganisation and the local authority associations will be consulted on possible changes.—[Vol. 788, c. 43.]

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will in future ensure that the quarterly summary of national income and expenditure statistics issued by the Central Statistical Office includes a table of expenditure on the gross domestic product at current as well as at 1963 prices and also a breakdown of gross domestic fixed capital formation at current prices between the private and the public sectors.

Further figures could be included only at the cost of unjustified delay in the issue of the quarterly summaries. The two series in question are in any case published at current prices, seasonally unadjusted, in the full quarterly articles in "Economic Trends".

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether, in place of the weekly £25,000 Premium Bond Prize, he will give £20,000 weekly and £1,000 on Monday to Friday, inclusive.

No. I am satisfied that the encouraging response to the introduction of the £25,000 weekly prize does not call for any further changes in the prize structure at present.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proposals he has for amending the regulations relating to the repayment of post-war credits in cases of hardship such as that of Mr. W. L. Stevens of Solihull, to which the hon. Member recently drew his attention.

While we sympathise with claimants who just fail to satisfy the conditions for repayment, we think the conditions are reasonable and have no proposals for their amendment.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he is aware of the substantial cost which now falls upon blind persons in the upkeep of their guide dogs; and what proposals he has for alleviating their burden in this respect.

The additional expenses of blind people generally were taken into account in granting the blind person's allowance. I regret that we cannot see our way to giving a special tax relief to those blind persons who maintain a guide dog.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the estimated amount of the import deposits that will be repayable in the period from the Customs (Import Deposits) Act 1968 ceasing to have effect on 5th December, 1969, to 31st March, 1970.

About £365 million.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he intends to introduce a new wealth tax.

I cannot say when such a tax might be introduced.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer to what extent he has issued instructions or advice to purchasing departments not to purchase abroad when prices are not more than 20 per cent. lower than in Great Britain; to what extent this conflicts with the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade; whether this is in accord with the Government's policy of entering the Common Market in view of the Rome Treaty's ban on such methods of trading; and whether he will make a statement.

No such instructions or advice have been issued. Departments already take care to ensure that consideration is always given to British goods, and they buy these goods when they are competitive with, and as suitable as, foreign products.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proposals he has received concerning the introduction of a gifts tax; and when he proposes to initiate such a tax.

I have received a number of proposals for a gifts tax but I cannot say when such a tax might be introduced.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the future of statutory control over the dividend distributions of public companies.

The Government will announce its policy on the future of dividend restraint shortly.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make a statement on the future of statutory control over expenditure by British tourists abroad.

I expect to make an announcement shortly.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works what is the area of land in the Greater London Area occupied by, or on behalf of, Government Departments.

No information is kept by my Department of the area of land in the Greater London Area occupied by or on behalf of Government Departments as such. But the figures relating to the London region for areas of accommodation are as follows:

Office Accommodation about 22 million sq. ft. net.

Storage Accommodation about 3 million sq. ft. net.

Other space, including Museums, Galleries, Research Establishments, etc. about 11 million sq. ft. net.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works what instructions have been given to the Royal Park Police about the prevention of public indecency in the Royal Parks; and whether he will make a statement.

The park-keepers in the Royal Parks are under standing instructions to discourage all forms of unseemly behaviour.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what further discussions have been held with a view to obtaining Great Britain's signature to the Treaty of Rome; and if he will make a statement.

We are in regular contact with our partners through the normal diplomatic channels and, as occasion offers, at ministerial level. The United Nations General Assembly last month provided an opportunity for my right hon. Friend to have useful talks with several of his European colleagues, including a rewarding first talk with the French Foreign Minister, M. Schumann.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what steps Her Majesty's Government are taking to conserve stocks of herring by seeking international agreement or in other ways.

With the support of the United Kingdom delegation, the North East Atlantic Fisheries Commission decided at its meeting this year to set up study groups to work out practical schemes to help restore the North Sea and other north-east Atlantic herring stocks. We shall be playing our full part in this work and in the further scientific investigations which are being undertaken.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence whether he will seek to arrange for relaxations of the restrictions on the use of service aerodromes in the development areas, to enable them to be of more effective use to industrialists moving to those areas, in view of the difficulties as set out in the letter sent to him by the right hon. Member for Sutton Coldfield.

I am at present considering with my right hon. Friend the question of adding further R.A.F. airfields to the list of Service airfields which are open for civil use. I do not however see any prospect of keeping R.A.F. airfields open for civil use at times when they are not required to be open for Service reasons.I will write to the hon. Member fairly soon on the points raised in his letter.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will hold renewed discussions with the Services, civilian authorities and voluntary organisations with a view to establishing a National Rescue Service.

A committee set up by my right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade is reviewing the marine search and rescue organisation in the United Kingdom. Rescue operations of other kinds are handled by the local emergency services, with such help from voluntary bodies and Service formations in the area as may be required; and I have no reason to believe that the arrangements for co-ordination are inadequate.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects to receive the report of the inquiry made by Sir Derek Hilton into the arrangements to be made to advise Commonwealth dependants overseas who wish to come to this country; whether the report will be published; and whether it will be made available to the voluntary bodies and others concerned.

I received Sir Derek Hilton's report during the Recess. I have today made copies available to hon. Members in the Library and the Vote Office, and I have sent copies to the voluntary bodies concerned. The Government accept in principle all the recommendations contained in Sir Derek's report; and I am most grateful to him for undertaking this inquiry.

asked the Minister of Overseas Development if she will list the sums, in dollars to allow for devaluation effects, that Her Majesty's Government have given in overseas aid and the percentage contribution of the United Kingdom gross national product for each of the last 10 years.

The information is as follows:

AID PROGRAMME GROSS DISBURSEMENTS
	Total $U.S. Millions	Percentage of GNP at Market Prices	Percentage of GNP at Market Prices of Net Official Flow of Financial Resources (as used for UNCTAD Volume Target)
1959/60*	316·4	0·47	Not available
1960	395·4	0·55	0·52
1961	476·3	0·62	0·59
1962	450·8	0·56	0·52
1963	448·3	0·52	0·48
1964	535·4	0·57	0·53
1965	545·4	0·54	0·48
1966	580·2	0·54	0·48
1967	556·1	0·50	0·45
1968	486·7	0·47	0·42
* Calendar year figures not available before 1960.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many of the schools represented in the Incorporated Association of Preparatory Schools have declared themselves charitable trusts and are thus eligible to claim relief from selective employment tax and a 50 per cent. concession on rate assessments; and if he will make a statement.

I estimate that about 250 of these schools are, or form part of, charities. Precise figures are not available.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what representations he has received from organisations representing teachers concerning his proposal to legislate on the introduction of comprehensive secondary schools; and if he will make a statement.

My right hon. Friend has received no representations from teachers' associations on his proposal to introduce legislation on the submission of plans for the reorganisation of secondary education on comprehensive lines. Full information about the Bill will be made available when it is introduced.

asked the Minister of Posts and Telecommunications when he intends to operate an experimental data transmission system incorporating store-and-forward techniques; what steps he is taking to obtain the co-operation of probable users; and what advice he is seeking either directly or through the National Economic Development Council subcommittee on telecommunications concerning the experience already gained by the users of private systems based on these techniques.

This is now a matter for the Board of the Post Office, which became a public corporation on 1st October.

asked the Minister of Power if he will make a statement on the loss and damage to the Shell oil rig "Staflo" which, under licence from him, was recently wrecked by gales in the North Sea, indicating how many men on it were lost and injured, and what provision he made for them and their families.

I am happy to say that in the event the "Staflo" was neither lost, wrecked, nor damaged in the recent gales in the North Sea. In the face of a forecast of a severe storm the majority of the crew were taken ashore to the base at Aberdeen on 28th September as a routine precautionary measure. There was no loss of life or injury to personnel. The men were returned to the "Staflo" on 30th September when the storm abated and normal working was then resumed.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many teachers have been dismissed, and received notices of dismissal, respectively, for failure to re-register with the General Teaching Council since 1st April, by each of the education authorities in Scotland; what action he is taking to recruit additional teachers to take the place of those dismissed or to be dismissed; and what estimate he has made of the cost to public funds of such additional recruitment.

No teacher has been dismissed. Aberdeen (City), Edinburgh, Argyll, Fife and Lanark education authorities have issued dismissal notices to 12, 3, 2, 3 and 54 teachers respectively, but I understand that 43 of these teachers have since renewed their registration. I understand that the other authorities with unregistered teachers will be considering the question of dismissal at meetings arranged for various dates this month. I am taking no special action regarding recruitment.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what is his latest estimate of the date of completion of the new trunk road bridge over the River Spey at Fochabers.

Autumn, 1970.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he will call in for his own consideration cases in which planning authorities propose to grant unrestricted planning permission in residential areas for unspecified industrial uses.

I am sending the hon. Member copies of the relevant circulars about development not in accord with development plans. The procedures in this matter were reviewed and supplemented last year and I do not think that they should be altered now.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what provision he makes in the allocation of funds for school buildings for schools which are the responsibility of his Department as between different areas to take account of the variations in cost per school place throughout the country.

I assume the hon. Member has in mind the hospital schools and local health authority junior training centres provided for the training of those mentally handicapped children who have been ascertained under Section 57 of the Education Act 1944 as unsuitable for education at school.The hospital schools form a very small part of the services for which capital allocations are made to the regional hospital boards and varying costs per school place are not a significant factor in determining the amount of these allocations. My Department's general aim however is to achieve a common satisfactory standard of service in all parts of the country.Loan sanction for junior training centres is related to a national cost standard but variations in building costs between different areas could exceptionally be taken into account at tender stage.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) what is the number of nurses employed by agencies in hospitals in the United Kingdom;(2) what is the number of hospitals in which agency nurses are employed.

At 31st March, 1969, the latest date for which figures are available, 1,801 agency nurses were employed in 251 National Health Service hospitals in England and Wales.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the weekly cost over and above that which would be payable to nursing staff on the basis of the remuneration laid down by the Nurses and Midwives Whitley Council.

The cost of agency nurses depends on the charges of the different agencies, which vary considerably, but in many cases the difference is small when account is taken of the Whitley Council's paid sick leave, holiday and superannuation provisions.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) how many audiologists, cardiologists and electroencephalography technicians, respectively, are employed by each regional hospital board and how many of these are obtained through employment agencies;(2) what is the annual cost of employing agency audiologists, cardiologists, and electro-encephalography technicians, respectively, to the National Health Service.

The numbers employed in England and Wales by hospital management committees in regional hospital areas at 30th September, 1968, the latest date for which figures are available, were as follows:

Hospital Area	Audiology Technicians	Cardiological Technicians	EEG Technicians
Newcastle	9	20	12
Leeds	19	38	9
Sheffield	9	40	5
East Anglian	5	11	2
North West Metropolitan	8	28	8
North East Metropolitan	11	38	7
South East Metropolitan	10	30	5
South West Metropolitan	11	21	8
Oxford	9	11	3
South Western	15	18	12
Birmingham	18	32	14
Manchester	26	42	15
Liverpool	6	35	11
Wessex	10	14	5
Wales	13	30	5
Totals: Hospital Management Committee employees	179	408	121

Technicians in these classes are also employed by boards of governors of teaching hospitals. I am not aware that any technicians are obtained through agencies.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how far short of establishment in each regional hospital board are audiologists, cardiologists and electroencephalography technicians, respectively.

Staffing establishments for these specialised services are a matter for the hospital authorities concerned and information is not available centrally.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will publish a table comparing the amount of aircraft noise suffered by residents in the area of Heathrow with that suffered at Gatwick and elsewhere in the country.

I have placed in the Library copies of maps illustrating by use of noise and number index contours the noise exposure at Heathrow in 1967 and that expected at Gatwick in 1972. It is not practicable to provide this information in tabular form or, in the time available, to produce maps relating to a common year.