asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he will make a statement on the result of his negotiations with the European Free Trade Association on the subject of frozen fish fillets imported into the United Kingdom.

Agreement has been reached on the outline of a scheme providing for E.F.T.A. exporters to observe a system of minimum export prices for frozen fish fillets sent to the United Kingdom from 1st January, 1970. Subject to the establishment and satisfactory operation of this scheme, the United Kingdom would accept the continued exclusion of such fillets from Annex E of the E.F.T.A. Convention and thus their duty-free import. Some details, however, remain to be settled after discussion with our own industry, and final agreement to the new arrangements must await their satisfactory resolution.

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he will make a statement on the effect of Iceland's proposed entry into the European Free Trade Association on the British fishing industry.

The effect of Icelandic accession to E.F.T.A. will depend on the outcome of negotiations which have not yet been concluded.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what assistance and advice is provided by his Department to local authorities on the subject of integrating handicapped children into pre-school nursery groups.

Advice on the special needs of handicapped children in nursery groups is included in the booklet "Our Young Children" prepared jointly by the Department of Health and Social Security, the Home Office, the Department of Education and Science, the Scottish Home and Health Department and the Scottish Education Department, and published this year. The Department sent copies of this booklet to local education authorities this August commending it to their attention, and I am sending a copy to my hon. Friend.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will list the research studies and projects concerning comprehensive education for which he has responsibility, which have so far been completed, are in train or are projected, giving details of the dates, subject matter, persons concerned and, where possible, the approximate cost.

An extensive project, of which a part has already been completed, is being carried out at my Department's request by the National Foundation for Educational Research in conjunction with the Universities of Manchester and Liverpool. It began in 1965 and should be completed in 1971; it is a study of the various methods of organising and running comprehensive schools in England and Wales, and includes a detailed inquiry into the work of different kinds of comprehensive schools and how they achieve their objectives.The project is directed by Dr. S. Wiseman (National Foundation for Educational Research) with the assistance of Professor Warburton (Manchester University). The approximate cost to date has been £148,000.No other projects in this field, within my responsibility, have been completed or are in train or projected at present

asked the Secretary of State for Employment and Productivity how many men, women, boys and girls, respectively, were registered as unemployed in Basingstoke and district at the latest date.

At 13th October, 1969, 251 persons (186 men, 50 women, 9 boys and

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what further reports he has received on the conduct of the war in Nigeria

The international observer team which is witnessing the conduct of Federal Nigerian troops engaged in the civil war has recently issued a report on its activities for the period 28th June to 30th September, copies of which have been placed in the Library of the House.The team has again recorded its conviction that the Federal Government of Nigeria, far from wishing the destruction of the Ibo, people, are making great efforts to provide immediate relief for displaced persons and refugees and to assist them to return to normal life. Her Majesty's Government hope that the details of this excellent report will be carefully studied by all those who have expressed concern.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and commonwealth Affairs whether he will announce the names of those Members of Parliment who are

asked the Secretary of State for Employment and Productivity whether she will publish a table showing the number of unemployed men, women and young persons in Fleetwood in the month of October in the years 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968 and 1969.

Following is the information:attending the Twenty-Fourth General Assembly of the United Nations.

The hon. Member for Rowley Regis and Tipton (Mr. Archer) is representing the United Kingdom on the Third (Social) Committee. The hon. Member for Hornchurch (Mr. Alan Lee Williams) is taking the United Kingdom chair on the Fourth (Colonial and Trusteeship) Committee, following the appointment to Ministerial office of the hon. Member for Stretford (Dr. Ernest A. Davies), who held that post at the beginning of the session.The following Members of Parliament are visiting the General Assembly for two weeks during this session as members of a Parliamentary group:The hon. Member for Hammersmith, North (Mr. Tomney) (Leader).The hon. Member for Hornchurch (Mr. Alan Lee Williams) (insofar as his committee duties permit).The hon. Member for Cheltenham (Mr. Dodds-Parker).The hon. Member for Banbury (Mr. Marten).The hon. Member for Bodmin (Mr. Bessell).

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will publish in the OFFICIAL REPORT details of the average amount of fines paid by, or terms of imprisonment imposed upon, fishermen sailing from the principal fishing ports for each year from 1960, for offences under section 376(1)(a) desertion, (1)(b) absence without leave, (1)(c) wrongfully quitting the boat, (1)(d) wilful disobedience, (1)(e) continued breach of duty, (1)(f) assault, (l)(g) unlawful domination, (1)(h) wilful damage, and (1)(i) smuggling, respectively, of the Merchant Shipping Act 1894; how many men were involved; and what percentage they represented of the total work force available in each port in each year.

No. I regret that this information is not readily available and could not be obtained without disproportionate cost.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will list in the OFFICIAL REPORT these principal fishing ports which have industrial disciplinary committees covering the fishing industry; how many of these committees deal with all or part of offences covered by section 376(1) of the Merchant Shipping Act, 1894; how many cases have come before them in each year since they were established; and what was the nature and extent of the punishment inflicted.

There are at present disciplinary committees at Hull, Grimsby, South Shields, Milford Haven, Aberdeen and Leith. These committees are non-statutory and are therefore not required to report on their work to my Department.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will list in the OFFICIAL REPORT those fishing ports where there is a fisherman's registration scheme in operation; how many men are registered in each port; how many applicants have been refused registration; and how many have been struck off or suspended from the register.

There are at present registration schemes at Hull, Grimsby, South Shields, Milford Haven, Fleetwood, Lowestoft, Aberdeen and Leith. These schemes, which are non-statutory, are managed by the industry itself, and there is therefore no requirement for information to be supplied to my Department as to their operation.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what action he proposes to take on the application by Argyll County Council to construct a pier at Escart Bay in connection with proposed new sea services to Islay, Jura, Gigha and Colonsay.

The proposed pier at Escart Bay is one of a series of shore works needed to serve the new vehicle ferry services to Islay and the associated islands, which I announced on 1st February, 1968 in reply to a Question by the right hon. Gentleman the Member for Argyll (Mr. Noble).Since that announcement a new situation has been created by the formation of the Scottish Transport Group which, sinceits acquisition of full ownership of MacBraynes in July of this year, now has at its own disposal the combined fleets of MacBraynes and the Caledonian Steam Packet Company. The group has decided that the R.M.S. "Lochiel" should not be maintained in operation on the Islay routes beyond the end of this year, but should then be replaced by a side-loading vehicle ferry from the Clyde fleet. As only slight modifications will be required to the existing piers, a considerable improvement in the MacBrayne services in this area, including the provision of car ferrying facilities, will therefore take place much sooner than would now be practicable under the proposals announced in February last year.The group is now carrying out a comprehensive review of the pattern and operation of its sea services to the Western Islands. This may take some time to complete. In view of this, and since the urgency for the provision of new terminals for the Islay services has been reduced by the immediate availability of a vehicle ferry, I consider that it would be right to defer for the time being construction of the works needed to support the earlier proposals. This will allow time for the transport needs of Islay and the associated islands to be assessed further in the light of the operation of the vehicle ferry which is about to be introduced, and in relation to the rate of growth of traffic and the total carrying capacity available on these routes.In reaching this conclusion I have taken into account not only advice received from the Scottish Transport Group but also the view of the Highlands and Islands Development Board that a decision on the major investment needed to implement the earlier proposals should be postponed for a period.I have conveyed my views to Argyll County Council and have asked it to reconsider its application for authority to construct a pier at Escart Bay.—[Vol.757, c.