asked the Minister for the Civil Service which new Government offices or agencies were sited in Scotland in 1969; and how many jobs were provided in each case.

In July, 1969, it was announced that the third wing of the Civil Service College would be sited in Edinburgh. On present estimates about 100 jobs will be provided. There has been continuing progress on decisions previously announced to establish Government work in Scotland; during the year over 800 jobs were transferred from London to Edinburgh and Glasgow.

asked the Minister for the Civil Service if he will give the number of civil servants in central government in each of the following years, 1900, 1910, 1930, 1950, 1960 and 1970.

There were 746,000 United Kingdom-based civil servants—including industrial staff but excluding Post Office staff—on 1st April, 1950, and 643,000 on 1st April, 1960. The figure for 1st December, 1969, which is the most recent available, was 703,000; and this figure includes approximately 15,000 staff of the National Savings Department who were included in Post Office numbers in earlier years. Comparable figures are not readily available in respect of the years 1900, 1910 or 1930.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will give details of the new proposed construction planned for the Royal Naval Dockyard at Chatham.

Chatham Dockyard has recently started work on a decontamination barge for use during the refitting of nuclear submarines. The barge, which is of substantial dimensions, is expected to take about a year to complete.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence whether he will allocate to Her Majesty's Dockyard Devonport the building of a ship for the use of the Royal Navy in the near future.

The construction of a research and development vessel for use as a transducer calibration facility—RDV 01—will commence at Devonport in March, 1970, and will be on the slipway for about a year. Devonport will also construct a number of dumb craft for the Port Auxiliary Service. The possibility of further construction work for the Dockyard will be then reviewed in 1971, by which time it should be possible to judge the effects of measures being taken to improve the Dockyards productivity and to reduce their overheads.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence, in view of the fact that all Her Majesty's services are at present short of recruits, if he will consider recruiting more Gurkhas to supplement the Army and more Maltese for the Royal Navy.

There are restrictions on the employment of Gurkhas which in the interests of flexibility require us to impose a limit on the proportion of Gurkha troops in the Army.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence how many men of the Royal Navy are being employed in surveying beaches in the British Virgin Islands, Beef and Virgin Gorda; and what is the object of this exercise; and what other surveys made by this or any other team will be undertaken in other Caribbean Islands.

These areas were surveyed last year by a team which included two naval personnel. The object of the survey was to update maps and charts of the area. No further surveys are planned at present.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what warships or fleet auxiliaries have had their commissioning dates delayed due to shortages of dockyard labour; and how long it is estimated that each ship will be delayed.

The planned commissioning dates of H.M. Ships following refit are arranged near the completion of a refit and so take account of changes in the dockyard programme and the question of delay in this connection does not therefore normally arise.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what experiments have been carried out in establishments under his Department's control involving the use of human beings; what have been the ages of those concerned; and what representations he has received about them.

The hon. Member presumably has in mind recent reports of allegations that the Ministry of Defence conducts experiments on elderly people who are subsequently put to death. These allegations are, of course, completely without foundation.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will publish in the OFFICIAL REPORT his estimate of the priorities in new and renovated school building for the London Borough of Brent, the estimated cost and designation of the buildings expected within the next five years as a result of the recent examination of these problems by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State on 12th December, 1969.

Brent's approved major school building programme for starts in the two years 1970–72 totals nearly £1·4 million. It consists of the following projects designed mainly to provide for increases and movement of school population:PRIMARY SCHOOLS

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many United States university teachers have been admitted to the United Kingdom to spend the present year in British universities, and in what faculties; and how these figures compare with each of the last five years.

I regret that this information is not available. I am writing to the hon. Member.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment and Productivity what was the total employable labour force in the constituency of Rochester and Chatham at the latest available date; how many were male and female; and how many were teenage, broken down into male and female.

At June, 1968, the estimated number of employees, employed and unemployed, in the area covered by the Chatham Employment Exchange was 73,200—49,300 males and 23,900 females. There is no age analysis of these figures.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment and Productivity if she will take steps to strengthen the Monopolies Commission; if she will consider introducing legislation to give the Commission powers to control mergers and takeovers; and if she will take steps to ensure that the interests of those working in the industries are also safeguarded through participation in negotiations.

My Department already has powers under the Monopolies and Mergers Act, 1965, to submit mergers and takeovers to the Monopolies Commission; and my right hon. Friend will be proposing to retain these in the Bill that she will shortly be introducing to merge the functions of the Monopolies Commission and the National Board for Prices and Incomes into a Commission for Industry and Manpower. In carrying out their function under the 1965 Act, my Department is keeping a special watch on merger situations that might give rise to difficulties for employees, and the forthcoming Industrial Relations Bill will include measures that will help to extend the participation of employees, through collective bargaining, in managerial decisions.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment and Productivity if she will give the percentage of male unemployment in the Greenwich, Woolwich, Deptford, Lewisham, South-East London and London areas, respectively, for each of the past three years.

At January, 1970, January, 1969, and January, 1968, the percentage rates of unemployment for males in the Greater London area were 2·1, 2·2 and 2·5, respectively. Rates cannot be calculated for parts of Greater London.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment and Productivity what was the increased levy proposed by the Construction Industry Training Board for 1970; what it now will be; and what percentage increase this will be over 1969.

The board originally proposed a levy designed to raise £29 million from the industry in 1970. In its revised proposals, the figure has been reduced to £24 million. This represents an increase of about 30 per cent. in the annual levy demand as compared with the last levy.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs in view of the advice given recently to British women by his representatives in Libya, namely, that they should submit to rape rather than be killed, what special instructions he has given in this context to Her Majesty's representatives in Lagos, in view of the present situation in Nigeria.

None. As regards the terms of the advice given by our Consul in Tripoli, I would refer the hon. and gallant Member to the reply I gave to my hon. Friend, the Member for West Ham, North (Mr. Arthur Lewis) on 8th December.—[Vol. 793, c. 5.]

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will state the names of the British Parliamentary delegation to the Council of Europe.

Yes. Representatives from the Government benches are:

• The hon. and learned Member for Dulwich (Mr. S. C. Silkin) acts as Leader.
• The right hon. Member for Kettering (Sir G. de Freitas).

The hon. Members for

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will take steps to prevent the sending of pornographic material to British citizens from Sweden.

This is a matter for the Swedish authorities. The forwarding of obscene articles through the post is prohibited by Article 28 of the Universal Postal Convention but it is left to individual postal administrations to decide what is obscene.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs to what extent private Members of Parliament are accorded preferential treatment from his Department's officers when on overseas visits unconnected with government.

The treatment given by officers of my Department to hon. Members on unofficial visits overseas, as to other distinguished British visitors, has to depend on all the circumstances of the visit in question.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will introduce legislation prohibiting the manufacture, preparation and importation of amphetamines and their derivatives on similar lines to the regulations which give effect to such a prohibition in the Republic of Ireland, details of which have been sent to him.

The proposed new drugs legislation announced in the Queen's Speech will substantially widen my powers to control the availability of dangerous drugs, and will enable me to take such action with regard to amphetamines as I consider appropriate in the light of expert advice.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will take steps to ensure that the parents or legal guardians of a juvenile appearing before the courts are given reasonable opportunity to visit their child before the case is heard, to obtain legal advice and to be present at the hearing.

The effect of Section 34 of the Children and Young Persons Act, 1933, is that such steps as are practicable must be taken to inform a parent or guardian of the arrest of a person under 17. My right hon. Friend does not consider that further amendment of the law would be appropriate for the purposes my hon. Friend has in mind.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will now make regulations under the Criminal Justice Act, 1967, to ensure that all courts before passing sentence ask for a social report on the accused from the responsible probation service.

Circulars were issued to courts in 1968 recommending that they should consider a social inquiry report before imposing a sentence in certain categories of case. This informal approach was foreshadowed when the relevant provision in the Criminal Justice Act, 1967, was before Parliament; my right hon. Friend is keeping the working of the new arrangements under review.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will take steps to ensure that all magistrates consult with the probation service into whose care a person is to be placed before putting a person on probation.

Courts have been advised that a social inquiry report should normally be obtained before a probation order is made. It is best left to the court to decide in the circumstances of the particular case whether there should be consultation with the probation service thereafter.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will take steps to ensure that when a person is placed on probation the probation officer will not be expected to enforce an order containing a specifically punitive element.

It is for the court to decide whether to include in a probation order such requirements as may be consistent with the relevant statutory provisions and with the purposes and methods of probation. These include the establishment of a satisfactory relationship between the probationer and his probation officer.

asked the Secretary of State for Local Government and Regional Planning what progress has been made in the consultations with local authority associations on the establishment of an ombudsman system for investigating complaints of maladministration by local government.

Consultation with the local authority associations on the details of a scheme will start after the White Paper on reorganisation of local government in England has published.

asked the Lord President of the Council whether he will now make a statement on the arrangements which Her Majesty's Government have made for a permanent record to be made available of the speeches made on the occasion of the unveiling of the Churchill Statue in the House of Commons.

I am glad to be able to inform the House that arrangements are being made for a permanent record of the speeches made on that occasion to be issued as a publication of Her Majesty's Stationery Office in the near future.

asked the Minister of Posts and Telecommunications (1) what is the total reduction in the number of regionally produced independent television programmes since the 1969 increase in the levy on television contractors;(2) which independent television contractors have been obliged to reduce the number of their locally produced programmes as a consequence of the 1969 increase in levy on revenue, and by how many.

The increase in the levy in 1969 is only one of the many factors represented to me as affecting independent television's financial prospects, which I am now considering. The I.T.A. tells me that there has been no significant reduction since last July in the number of locally-produced programmes. For one company, Grampian Television Ltd., the I.T.A. has agreed for the time being to a reduction in local programmes to enable the company to obtain the full financial benefit of closing a studio in Edinburgh.

asked the Minister of Posts and Telecommunications if he will make a statement about the areas of his subject on which he will and will not answer Parliamentary Questions; and whether he proposes in relation to the Post Office to follow the practice of Ministers responsible for nationalised industries in answering Questions requiring national statistics about those industries.

I would refer the hon. Member to the Answer I gave to the hon. Member for Orpington (Mr. Lubbock) on 21st October, 1969.—[Vol. 788, c. 196.]

asked the Minister of Technology why no copy of his Department's Green Paper on Industrial Research and Development in Government Laboratories was available in the House of Commons Library on 16th January although it had been released to the Press during the previous week; whether, in view of the inconvenience to hon. Members, he will take steps to prevent a recurrence; and whether he will make a statement.

As I have told the hon. Member, I regret that copies of the Ministry of Technology's recent Green Paper were not made available to Members early on Friday, 16th January, when it was published, although copies were placed in the Vote Office on the first day of the new Session the following Monday, 19th January. No discourtesy was intended, and in the circumstances I do not judge that this matter calls for a statement.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what proposals have been made by Her Majesty's Government to the International Civil Aviation Organisation for dealing with the problem of hijacking of aircraft.

The United Kingdom joined with other members of the Council of the International Civil Aviation Organisation in an initiative which led to the establishment by the Council of a special Committee on Unlawful Interference with International Civil Aviation; the United Kingdom Representative on the Council is a member of that Committee. Her Majesty's Government are also playing a leading part in the development by the Legal Committee of I.C.A.O. of a new Convention dealing specifically with the treatment of hijackers and the consequences of their actions.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what is the policy of Her Majesty's Government with regard to hijacked aircraft which may land at United Kingdom airports, and with regard to the persons responsible for hijacking.

Her Majesty's Government would take appropriate measures in accordance with the provisions of the Tokyo Convention and consistent with the safety of passengers and crew to restore control of the aircraft to its lawful commander or to preserve his control of the aircraft, permit its passengers and crew to continue their journey as soon as practicable, and return the aircraft and its cargo to those lawfully entitled to possession. The action taken against the hijacker would necessarily depend on the circumstances of the case but consideration would be given to prosecuting him for any offence over which the United Kingdom had jurisdiction or to any request for his extradition.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what progress is being made with his review of flight time limitations whether he has yet decided to include surface travel within the definition of duty period.

The review is still in progress and initial consideration has been given to all comments received including those relating to surface travel and the definition of duty time, but no decision has yet been taken.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he will consider removing on a temporary basis the present import duty imposed on reinforcing steel, in view of the serious shortage of that commodity in this country.

I understand that some firms have experienced difficulties in obtaining supplies, and we are always prepared to consider suspending a duty on application for a domestic industry when it is supported by evidence that duty-free supplies from the United Kingdom and Commonwealth preference area fall substantially short of United Kingdom demand, and that the duty represents a serious burden on users which could be removed without detriment to other interests. I have, however, no evidence that this is the case at present.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he will seek to provide sufficient financial assistance with regard to the replacement of lifeboats so that those responsible are enabled to make a free choice as regards type and variety, unrestricted by financial considerations.

The Royal National Life-boat Institution is responsible for the Lifeboat Service and has not asked for financial assistance. I understand that should the need arise the Institution would consider making such an approach but would seek to maintain the voluntary nature of the Institution.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what stamp duty he will propose on cheques after decimalisation.

This is under consideration.

asked the Minister of Transport whether he will have a special report prepared on the incidence of accidents, fatal and otherwise, on the A5 at Muckley Corner, Staffordshire, at the intersection of A461, and also, separately, at the intersection of the A5 with A38 at Shenstone; and whether he will reconsider his policy to defer improvements to the A5 because of the opening of the Midlands Motorway Link in this area.

A special study is already in hand on the incidence of personal injury accidents on the A5 at Muckley Corner. An additional report for the A5-A38 intersection at Shenstone would be premature pending our starting work this year, subject to availability of land, on the last section of the overall improvement of the length between Shenstone and Muckley Corner. A further scheme for dualling between Freeth (Canal) Bridge and A452 is also programmed for this year, but any further major schemes could not be justified before the Midland Motorway link is in operation.

asked the Minister of Transport how much has been, to the latest convenient date, the receipt from tolls on the Tyne Tunnel; and what was the forecast of what it would be, over the same period, when the tunnel was authorised.

Toll income from the Tyne Tunnel from the time it opened to vehicular traffic on 19th October, 1967, to 31st March, 1969, was £456,000. When the tunnel was authorised in 1959 it was expected to open in 1964: toll revenue for the first 18 months of operation was then forecast at some £425,000. A revised estimate prepared in 1965 forecast the toll revenue for the same period at approximately £620,000.

asked the Minister of Transport how many vehicles are licensed in the administrative county of West Suffolk; and what was the total sum of money collected from their owners in licence duties in the years 1967–68 and 1968–69, respectively.

It is provisionally estimated that there were 57,240 licensed motor vehicles in the third quarter of 1969 compared with 57,600 in 1968. £964,271 was collected in licence duty in the financial year, 1967–68 and £1,427,905 in 1968–69; refunds of licence duly in the same periods were £34,735 and £51,953.

asked the Minister of Transport what representations he has received concerning the Fleetwood-Knott End ferry; and when he will make a statement.

The Fleetwood Borough Council asked me last year about the arrangements whereby I might make them a grant under Section 34 of the Transport Act, 1968, towards the costs of providing his ferry. As the council has already been informed, the conditions of grant and other particulars will be fully explained in a circular which will be sent to it, as well as to all local authorities as soon as possible.I undestand that the council now requires for the purposes of its financial estimates an early indication as to whether this ferry service would qualify for capital and revenue grants, and my Department will shortly be replying to their recent letter giving them as much information as possible.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales whether the Council for Wales has calculated the possible effects on the Welsh economy of Great Britain's entry into the Common Market; and whether it reported its findings to him.

Not as yet.

asked the Secretary of State for Wales how many miles of dual carriageway roads have been started since 1965 in the six counties of western Wales, Carmarthenshire, Pembrokeshire, Cardiganshire, Merioneth, Caenarvanshire and Anglesey, respectively; and what will be the total mileage of dual carriageway road to have been constructed in these counties by 1975.

The information is as follows:

	Mileage:
	Started since 1965	Constructed by 1975
Carmarthenshire	0·13	2·14
Pembrokeshire	0·25	0·35
Cardiganshire	Nil	Nil
Merioneth	Nil	Nil
Caernarvonshire	1·76	3·66
Anglesey	Nil	0·50
	2·14	6·65

In these counties, where there are no large towns and volumes of traffic are relatively light, my strategy is in the main to improve trunk roads to a good modern single carriageway standard, with lengths of dual carriageway at the point of heaviest pressure.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is his estimate of the annual saving to the National Health Service on the basis that the manufacture, preparation, importation, sale and distribution of amphetamines and their derivatives were prohibited for the purposes of the National Health Service.

Because of the consequential increase in the use of alternative drugs, I would expect there to be little, if any, saving.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will publish in the OFFICIAL REPORT the number of former senior officials of the former Ministry of Health who, in each of the last five years, have left Government service to hold posts within the pharmaceutical industry.

One senior officer, who retired in 1967, is a consultant to companies within the industry. I know of no others holding posts in the industry, and of none who left in order to take such posts, but my information is not necessarily complete, since the requirement to seek consent to related outside employment applies only to senior officers in the first two years of retirement.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will introduce legislation to enable birth certificates for foundlings and older abandoned babies to be issued which will not differentiate from all other birth certificates.

Short birth certificates for such children are already in a form which does not reveal the fact that they were abandoned.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what was the total number of sight tests carried out by registered contracting ophthalmic opticians on the list of the Manchester Executive Council in 1969; and how many such contractors, including all their practice addresses, carried out such sight tests in 1969, shown in steps of 0–200 upwards to the maximum, shown as for each contractor.

I am writing to my hon. Friend.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) what is his estimate of the percentage of a nurse's time which is spent in nursing;(2) what is the estimate off the percentage of a nurse's time which is spent in nursing after 5 p.m. daily throughout the week and between 12 noon on Saturdays and 9 a.m. Mondays.

I regret that it is not practicable to make such estimates. The percentage of time a nurse spends in nursing, whether at particular hours or altogether, varies with the grade of nurse, the type of ward, the type of hospital and many other factors.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what were the figures of entry to the nursing profession in each of the years 1962 to 1969, inclusive.

The numbers of admissions to the General Nursing Council's indexes of Student and Pupil Nurses, including readmissions after previous discontinuance of training, were:

During year ended	Students	Pupils	Total
31 st March, 1962	21,333	4,498	25,831
31st March, 1963	21,978	5,893	27,871
31st March, 1964	19,648	5,884	25,532
31st March, 1965	20,770	7,131	27,901
31st March, 1966	21,087	8,787	29,874
31st March, 1967	20,538	10,487	31,025
31st March, 1968	19,301	11,756	31,057
31st March, 1969	17,798	12,067	29,865

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what plans he has for a general re-structure of nurses' pay.

The current negotiations in the Nurses and Midwives Whitley Council cover the structure as well as the level of nurses' pay.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he considered the representations in respect of brutality to patients and embezzlement of their moneys at Hellesdon Hospital; what steps he proposes to take in these matters; and if he will make a statement.

Preliminary inquiries by officers of my Department confirmed that certain offences alleged in these representations were such as to call for police investigation. The police were accordingly informed and are carrying out an investigation.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is the present monthly salary of a hospital porter.

Porters are paid weekly. Basic pay outside London for non-supervisory grades varies from £13 15s. to £15 6s. per week. The rate for the main grade is £14 15s. Rates for supervisory grades are still subject to review.