asked the Minister of Public Building and Works if he will remove the scaffolding in Westminster Hall and replace it for all maintenance purposes with a Simon hydraulic platform.

No.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works what guidance he is now giving to local authorities about condensation in new houses.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works whether he will make a statement on the progress of his investigations into the elimination of condensation particularly in local authority housing; and what advice he has offered to local authorities on this matter.

My Department, and particularly the Building Research Station, has given advice to local authorities in a number of specific cases. This advice will continue to be available and, in addition, a design guide will be published next month. As in past years, lectures and conferences will also be arranged.Further details are given below:

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works whether he has now submitted his Department's evidence to the Bolton Committee on Small Firms.

Yes.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works what was the value of output in the construction industry, at current prices, in 1949; and what were the equivalent figures for 1959 and 1969.

The value of output in 1949 was about £1,250 million and in 1959 £2,400 million. The figures for 1969 are not yet available but should be in the region of £4,650 million.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works whether he will make a statement on the current level of output in the construction industry.

I would refer the hon. Member to my answer earlier today to the hon. Members for Meriden (Mr. Speed) and Acton (Mr. Baker).

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works on what date he received official representations from the President of the National Federation of Building Trade Employers about certain provisions of the Local Authorities (Goods and Services) Bill; on what date he replied to them; and what was the nature of his reply.

No representations were made directly to me, although I received a copy of the President's letter of 20th November to my right hon. Friend the Minister of Housing and Local Government.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works what further steps he proposes to take to minimise the financial burdens currently being placed on building firms; and whether he will make a statement.

I have the difficulties of the construction industry under close review, but I have no statement to make at present.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works whether he will make a statement on current brick stocks.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works how many bricks have been produced and delivered in each of the past five years.

Stocks of bricks at the end of 1969 were 870 million. The production and deliveries of bricks in the past 5 years are given in the Monthly Bulletin of Construction Statistics which is available in the Library. My right hon. Friend is meeting the industry again on Thursday when the situation will be further discussed.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works what estimate he has made of the output of the brick industry in 1970.

It is for the industry to decide upon the actual level of production in 1970. My estimate of the demand for building bricks this year is about the same as for 1969, that is 6,500 million.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works what representations have been made to him about the danger of part of the current large brick stocks becoming obsolete because of the proposed change-over to the metric system; and whether he will make a statement about his policy on this matter.

I have received no such representations. The policy on this matter is one for the manufacturers who are in touch with my Department. They are phasing their production to combine with the changes in project planning from imperial to metric dimensions. However, I do not anticipate that the existing brick stocks will become redundant. A considerable number of projects will continue to be built in imperial size bricks. There will also be a continuous requirement for imperial size bricks for maintenance, but the slightly smaller metric brick can be used satisfactorily for this purpose.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works what representations have been made to him about the effect of the growing use of industrialised building techniques on the building industry; and whether he will make a statement.

None.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works how many brickworks have recently closed and how many have notified him of their decision to introduce short-time working; and if he will make a statement.

Producers are not obliged to inform the department of closures or short-time working, but I understand that in the past three months thirteen brickworks have ceased production because of reduced demand. During the same period I have been notified that two works have introduced short-time working. My right hon. Friend is meeting representatives of the brickmakers again on Thursday to discuss the situation further.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works what will be the cost of the additional modifications required to support the roofs of the three large hangars at Kinloss, Morayshire; and how much has already been spent on modifying these hangars in order to house the Nimrod aircraft.

About £45,000 for the additional modification; the cost of the original scheme was about £200.000.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works what steps his Department has taken to carry out recommendation 3 b of the Phelps Brown Committee, namely, that there should be a firm commitment of building and civil engineering scheduled starts for the next financial year, that there should be a provisional commitment of 75 per cent. of the programme for the second year and an announced preliminary programme for the third year.

I would refer my hon. Friend to the recent White Paper on Public Expenditure 1968–69 to 1973–74 (Cmnd. 4234), which in general achieves this.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works what steps he has taken to co-ordinate the work of the Agrément Board and the Building Research Station regarding the testing of products submitted for consideration for Agrément Certificates.

The Agrément Board has sole responsibility for deciding on the work, including testing, to be undertaken in relation to products submitted for Agrément assessment, but makes extensive use, on repayment terms, of the test facilities at the Building Research Station. It also co-operates closely with B.R.S. on research and development aspects of testing.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works why he set up a Working Party of the National Consultative Council to co-ordinate events to mark the Golden Jubilee of the Building Research Station; what progress it has made; when it last met; how many meetings it has had; and when it is next proposing to meet.

The Working Group was set up to consider how various construction industry events planned for 1971 could be linked together to the benefit of the industry. The Working Group met in March, 1969, and agreed to conduct its business so far as possible by correspondence. Since then its member organisations have been informed of the subjects to be discussed at the Building Research Station Golden Jubilee Congress. These subjects will be further developed in other meetings and conferences during the second half of 1971. A further meeting of the Working Group will be called in due course.

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works what discussions he has had in the last six months with persons other than Ministers or civil servants with whom to ensure an improvement in the general building programme and house building in particular; with what results; and whether he will make a statement.

I would refer my hon. Friend to my answer earlier today to my hon. Friends the Members for Wolverhampton, North-East (Mrs. Renée Short) and Liverpool, Walton (Mr. Heffer) and the hon. Members for Birmingham, Hall Green (Mr. Eyre) and Swindon (Mr. Ward).

asked the Minister of Public Building and Works by what methods he obtains statistical information regarding the total amount of Government imposed levies and charges on building firms.

The known rates of employers' statutory contributions are applied to the aggregate data which my Department collects from the construction industries.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the total of the lines of credit arranged with the Export-Import Bank of the United States since October, 1964 to finance purchases of American military aircraft and missiles; and how much of this total has been used in payment for such purchases.

The total of the lines of credit arranged is $975 million; this includes $154 million for undrawn credits which were allowed to lapse and credit drawn for the F.111 aircraft which was repaid on cancellation of the order. Up to 31st January, 1970, a net amount of $721 million had been drawn.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will now ease the present restrictions on United Kingdom capital investment overseas.

No.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer why the Inland Revenue are issuing forms to Pay As You Earn taxpayers advising them that they are not paying as much tax as they think; how many of these forms are to be issued; and what will be the cost of producing and circulating the forms.

A leaflet has been issued so that taxpayers can see

SUBSIDIES AND GRANTS TO AGRICULTURE AND PRIVATE INDUSTRY
	£ million
	1965–66	1966–67	1967–68	1968–69
Agriculture	235	227	259	264
Private industry	20	66	497	624
Of which—
Investment grants, S.E.T. additional payments and regional employment premiums	—	41	466	588

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the nine Schedule E computer centres that are planned to come into operation in the

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he now expects to take steps to fulfil the undertakings given by his predecessor in 1967 and himself in 1969 to the International Monetary Fund regarding the relaxation of controls on capital movements.

I have nothing to add to the Answer I gave to a similar Question asked by the hon. Gentleman on 21st October, 1969.—[Vol. 788, c. 929.]

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his latest estimate of the probable rise in gross domestic product at factor cost during the current financial year.

I would refer the hon. Gentleman to my right hon. Friend's reply to the hon. Member for Guildford (Mr. David Howells) on 20th January.—[Vol. 794, c. 226–7.]

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish a table in the OFFICIAL REPORT showing the amounts which have been paid out in subsidies and grants during the past four years to agriculture and other industries, respectively.

Yes. The information is as follows:next 10 years, giving in respect of each the following information, namely, the actual or estimated date of the contracts for the buildings and computer hardware, respectively, the make and type and estimated cost of all computer hardware, and the estimated cost of the computer block and the office block, respectively.

The order for the computer for the Centre at East Kilbride was placed in October, 1964 and orders were placed for the Centres at Bootle and Cardiff in October, 1968. Orders for the remaining Centres will be placed about 2 years before the appropriate computer accommodation becomes available, i.e. the approximate dates for placing the orders are expected to be:

Shipley	…	end 1971
Manchester	…	end 1972
Washington	…	early 1973
Edinburgh	…	Autumn 1973
Portsmouth	…	Autumn 1974
Midlands	…	Autumn 1974

It is not the usual practice to reveal the prices paid or expected to be paid to the suppliers of this equipment.The building contracts are a matter for my right hon. Friend the Minister for Public Building and Works.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer to what extent and on what basis a value added tax would have

PERCENTAGE OF GROSS NATIONAL PRODUCT
	1970–71	1971–72	1972–73	1973–74
	Per cent.	Per cent.	Per cent.	Per cent.
Defence Budget	5·6	5·3	4·9	4·8
Overseas aid	0·6	0·6	0·6	0·7
Technological services and other assistance to employment and industry	2·8	2·7	2·6	2·4
Housing	2·9	2·9	3·0	3·0
Education	6·0	6·1	6·0	6·0
Health and Welfare	4·8	4·9	4·9	4·9
Social Security	9·2	9·1	9·1	9·1

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he is now able to announce the result of his study of the recommendations of the working party set up by the National Economic Development Office for tax changes designed to encourage the overseas earnings of civil engineering and process plant contractors.

The Government recognise the value of the contribution of these activities to exports and invisible earnings. But my right hon. Friend is not at present convinced that this in itself justi-

Any tax of the kind that my hon. Friend has in mind, replacing both S.E.T. and Purchase Tax, would need to be of wide coverage, including essential goods and services, or at high rates—or both.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will tabulate in the OFFICIAL REPORT the percentage of the gross national product in each of the years 1970–71 to 1973–74 which will be devoted to the following items of public expenditure, as defined in table 1.4 of Command Paper No. 4234, assuming that the figures given in table 1.4 and 1.6 are adhered to and that the gross national product grows at 3 per cent. per annum in the period 1968–69 to 1973–74, namely, defence, overseas aid, assistance to employment and industry, housing, education, health and welfare, and social security.

The following are the figures based on estimates at 1969–70 outturn prices:fies any special tax relaxations on the lines proposed to meet the particular interests which are involved here.

asked the Minister of Transport if he will now give a general direction to London Transport to employ more buses so that they can provide a more reliable service south of the Thames.

My right hon. Friend has no power under the Transport (London) Act, 1969, to give directions to the London Transport Executive or to the Greater London Council on issues of this kind.

asked the Minister of Transport when he proposes to approve electrification of rail road traffic on the Eastern Region extending to the North, namely, to Wakefield and Leeds and York, in view of the fact that electrification will bring about increased efficiency at a reduced cost.

I have received no such proposals from the Railways Board.

asked the Minister of Transport when he expects to install traffic signals at the intersection of the A41 and Woodmere Avenue in Watford.

The A41 is being converted to a dual carriageway road between Woodmere Avenue and Tudor Avenue. Signals cannot be installed until road works near the junction are completed. It is hoped that this will be in June.

asked the Minister of Transport what proposals he has to improve the lighting on the A5 trunk road in the borough of Tamworth.

A scheme of road lighting on the A5 trunk road in the borough of Tamworth has been programmed and is now in the design stage. The scheme extends through neighbouring authorities from west of A453 Mile Oak junction to the east of Wilnecote.

asked the Minister of Transport when he proposes to make the order limiting parking on the lay-by which was provided for Oulton St. John Church, Oulton, in the West Riding of Yorkshire.

Such parking restrictions are a matter for the local authority concerned.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government what proposals he has to enable an increase to be made in the number of dwellings completed in 1970–71.

I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given on Tuesday, 3rd February, to Questions by my hon. Friends the Members for Croydon, South (Mr. Winnick) and Salford, East (Mr. Frank Allaun).—[Vol. 795, c. 186–7.]

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government what is the estimated increase in new house prices over the past and prospective 12 months; and what are his proposals to minimise the increasing costs of house-building.

The average price of new dwellings mortgaged by private owners with building societies increased by slightly over 7 per cent. over the past 12 months. It is not possible to predict what increase there may be over the coming 12 months.The development and use of new materials and building techniques to increase efficiency and reduce costs is a continuing process, and steps are being taken to increase the supply of land available for housebuilding.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government what are the latest number and values of rebates granted to Sunderland ratepayers under the Rating Act, 1966; to what extent eligible ratepayers are claiming the rebate; and if he will make a statement.

The latest figures for rebates are as follows:

Period	Number of recipients	Amount afforded
		£
October, 1968 to March, 1969	3,199	22,660

The number of householders eligible for rate rebate depends upon several factors including their incomes, the size of their rate bills and the extent to which help with rates is being obtained by way of supplementary benefit. Information available about these factors does not enable the number eligible for rebates to be estimated.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government what representations he has received from Kent County Council on the proposal of Shell-Mex and British Petroleum Limited to establish a petroleum terminal at Wye, Kent; and if he will make a statement.

I understand from the county council that it has now received a formal planning application, but that it has requested further details before considering it. Local representations have been made to my right hon. Friend that he should call the application in and hold a public inquiry. He will decide whether to intervene when he has received the council's considered views on the application and a full account of the representations made to it.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government what is the present number of the staff at the Land Commission's Bristol Headquarters at Vulture House; how this compares with the number employed 12 months ago; and what are his future plans for this office.

If this question is rephrased in correct form I will be prepared to provide a serious answer to it.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government whether he will take steps to provide that rating authorities, when reviewing rating valuations in the forthcoming review, take into account the total value of heating installations installed, irrespective of whether the heat is supplied by gas, electricity or oil.

Rating assessments are based on the rents which properties would be likely to command in the open market. Whether a heating installation affects the rental value depends upon whether it is part of the structure of the property and not upon the fuel used. Free-standing appliances would not normally be regarded as part of the structure, but many heating installations are incorporated in the structure and would affect the rental value.My right hon. Friend has no proposals at present to alter the law in this respect.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government what proportion of the total expenditure by the County Borough of Luton was met by Government financial aid in each year since it became a county borough; and what is the estimated proportion for the years 1969–70 and 1970–71.

Government grants represented the following proportions of the revenue expenditure by Luton County Borough Council met by rates and revenue grants, including housing subsidies:

				Per cent.
1964–65	…	…	…	44·5
1965–66	…	…	…	44·9
1966–67	…	…	…	43·2
1967–68	…	…	…	46·1
1968–69	…	…	…	49·4

The figures from 1966–67 onwards are not wholly comparable with those for earlier years as the police grant was no longer payable to the county borough council from 1st April, 1966, when responsibility for the police service was transferred to the Bedfordshire and Luton Police Authority.Capital grants represented the following proportions of capital expenditure by the county borough council, other than that met from revenue:

				Per cent.
1964–65	…	…	…	1·7
1965–66	…	…	…	0·8
1966–67	…	…	…	0·7
1967–68	…	…	…	11·0
1968–69	…	…	…	10·3

Figures from which grant percentages may be derived for 1969–70 and 1970–71 are not yet available.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government how much Government financial aid was given to the County Borough of Luton in 1968–69; what is the estimated aid to be given in 1969–70 and 1970–71; and if he will provide details of these payments.

Government grants to the county borough of Luton for 1968–69 were as follows:

		£
Rate Support Grant:
Needs element	…	3,635,675
Domestic element	…	187,116
Total	…	3,822,791
Rate rebate grant	…	23,285
Specific revenue grants	…	191,317
Housing subsidies	…	286,797
Capital grants	…	714,543
Total	…	5,038,733

The latest estimates of rate support grant for 1969–70 and 1970–71 amount to £4,609,703 and £5,037,010 respectively. The amounts of other grants for these years are not yet known.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government what is the latest number and value of rebates granted to Gateshead ratepayers under the Rating Act, 1966; how this compares with the rate relief granted under the Rating (Interim Relief) Act, 1964; to what extent eligible ratepayers are claiming the debate; and if he will make a statement.

The latest figure for rebates are as follows:

Period	Number of recipients	Amount afforded
		£
October, 1968 to March, 1969	1,568	12,663

No relief was granted to individual ratepayers under the Rating (Interim Relief) Act, 1964.The number of householders eligible for rate rebate depends upon several factors, including their incomes, the size of their rate bills and the extent to which help with rates is being obtained by way of supplementary benefit. Information available about these factors does not enable the number eligible for rebates to be estimated.

asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government what was the total assistance for all purposes paid from national funds to assist the rate income of the County Borough of Gateshead for the years 1966–67, 1967–68, 1968–69, and the estimated amount for 1969–70.

The total Exchequer grants paid to the county borough of Gateshead in aid of rates for the years 1966–67 to 1968–69 were as follows:

				£
1966–67	…	…	…	3,063,117
1967–68	…	…	…	3,333,287
1968–69	…	…	…	3,522,534

Other grants paid to the county borough during the period 1966–67 to 1968–69 were:

			Housing Subsidies	Capital Grants
			£	£
1966–67	…	…	304,781	16,009
1967–68	…	…	378,685	288,737
1968–69	…	…	416,752	802,128

For 1969–70 only the amount of rate support grants is known at present. This was £3,611,438, compared with £3,234,194 in 1968–69, £2,983,952 in 1967–68, and corresponding grants for 1966–67 amounting to £2,759,014.

asked the Minister of Technology, having regard to the shortages of steel reinforcing rods and similar products afflicting the constructional industries, what steps he is taking to assist the industry, without resort to imports; and whether he will make a statement.

I would refer the hon. Member to my right hon. Friend's reply to the hon. Member for Cambridge (Mr. Lane) on 26th January.—[Vol. 794, c. 990–2.]

asked the Minister of Technology in which industrial countries, from information available to him from international sources, has coal consumption risen and output fallen in the most recent convenient period; and to what extent he takes account of trends in other countries in revising the role of coal in his energy policy.

In the period 1965 to 1968, only the U.S.S.R.; trends in other countries are watched but are not always relevant.

asked the Minister of Technology when he will announce the allocation of licences for natural gas exploration in the Continental Shelf arising from the applications which closed on 15th January.

It will necessarily take some time to complete the consideration of these applications and I cannot at present say when the licences will be granted.

asked the Minister of Technology how many industrial development certificates were approved for Scotland in the 12 months to the last convenient date; and how this figure compares with each similar preceding 12 months since 1967.

In Scotland, 319 industrial development certificates were issued in 1969, 287 certificates in 1968 and 250 certificates in 1967.

asked the Minister of Technology how many applications for industrial development certificates were made for the Nuneaton and Bedworth employment exchange areas in each of the years since 1964; and how many were granted.

The numbers of industrial development certificates approved and refused in the Nuneaton and Bedworth Employment Exchange Areas during the years 1964 to 1969 are shown in the following table:

		Nuneaton		Bedworth
		Approved	Refused	Approved	Refused
1964	…	4	—	2	—
1965	…	—	1	2	1
1966	…	2	1	1	—
1967	…	3	1	6	—
1968	…	12	—	9	—
1969	…	7	—	13	1

asked the Minister of Technology whether he will have dis- cussions with the London Borough of Newham on the problem of industry leaving the borough, and with a view to assisting new industries establishing themselves there.

In view of the industrial situation in Newham and the Government's location of industry policy, I do not think that a meeting of the kind my hon. Friend has in mind would be very profitable.

asked the Secretary of State for Defence what consideration he has given to the communication of the hon. Member for Harrow, East, about the desirability of publishing in the OFFICIAL REPORT a table showing the numbers of aliens and Commonwealth citizens in each of the services; and whether he will make a statement.

I have written to my hon. Friend. To produce the figures he asks for would require examination of approaching 400,000 records. Entry into the Forces is subject to nationality rules which are broadly the same as those for civil servants in the Ministry of Defence as announced by the Prime Minister to the House on 10th November, 1964. These, and the waivers which my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State may exercise, provide adequate opportunity for Commonwealth subjects to join the Forces.—[Vol. 701, c. 39–42.]

asked the Secretary of State for Defence why his Department does not keep figures showing the number of officers in the Army and the corresponding women's service, respectively, who began their service in the ranks, other than those who enlisted as potential officers; and whether he will take steps to obtain such figures.

Army officers who have served in the ranks will have been commissioned in one of seven ways and may be serving in any arm of the Service. It would only be possible to obtain the precise figures for which the question asks by analysing the records of all officers in the Army. I am considering if the work involved in such a process would be of benefit, and I will write to my hon. Friend.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether any report and accounts of Beagle Aircraft Limited for a period since its acquisition by Her Majesty's Government have been filed with the Registrar of Companies.

The company which was incorporated in July, 1968, has not yet filed a report and accounts.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what is the average age of the members of the Air Transport Licensing Board.

68.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will now make amendments in light aircraft navigational equipment requirements; and whether he will make a statement.

The requirements which the Department is currently considering for the carriage of navigational equipment will not be directed towards light aircraft as such but will apply to any aircraft desiring to operate in specified parts of the United Kingdom air space. An announcement will be made as soon as consultations with users have reached the stage when final decisions can be taken about dates for implementation.

asked the President of the Board of Trade how many near mid-air collisions have occurred over the United Kingdom in each of the years from 1963; and how many of these have involved civil airliners.

The total air misses reported involving civil aircraft and assessed as involving actual risk over the years 1963–69 are given below. The table also shows the numbers in these totals where public transport aircraft were concerned.

Year		Column A Total Reports Concerning Civil Aircraft	Column B Number in Col. B Concerning Public Transport Aircraft
1963	…	6	2
1964	…	11	7
1965	…	9	3
1966	…	13	9
1967	…	20	5
1968	…	9	5
1969	…	17*	3*
		85	34
* The 1969 figures should be regarded as preliminary. All reports from the year ending 31st December 1969, have not yet been analysed by the Air Miss Working Group to assess if any degree of risk existed and, if so, to what extent.

asked the President of the Board of Trade how many merchant seamen were prosecuted under Sections 220 and 221 of the Merchant Shipping Act, 1894, in the years 1965 to 1969, inclusive; and what were the penalties imposed.

This information is not readily available. Moreover, to obtain it would involve some delay and a great deal of work involving disproportionate cost.

asked the President of the Board of Trade how many square feet of factory space were completed in each of the existing development areas of the United Kingdom between 1959 and 1964, and 1964 and 1969.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment and Productivity how many new jobs were created in each of the existing development areas in the period 1959 to 1964 and 1964 to 1969.

I have been asked to reply.I regret that figures for 1959 are not available. Information on industrial building completed for manufacturing industry and the employment expected to be provided in each development area

INDUSTRIAL BUILDING COMPLETED FOR MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY* IN THE DEVELOPMENT AREAS AS KNOWN AT 31ST DECEMBER 1969, SHOWING AREA ('000 SQ. FT.) AND ESTIMATED ADDITIONAL EMPLOYMENT ('000)†
			Northern			South-Western			Wales
			Area	E.A.E.		Area	E.A.E.		Area	E.A.E.
				M.	T.		M.	T.		M.	T.
1960	…	…	1705	1·7	2·7	155	0·2	0·3	5415	6·4	7·6
1961	…	…	5578	5·6	7·8	70	0·1	0·1	1849	3·6	4·9
1962	…	…	2537	4·3	6·8	186	0·2	0·4	1336	2·2	3·5
1963	…	…	1518	3·1	5·2	118	0·3	0·6	1491	5·1	6·4
1964	…	…	2660	5·3	8·8	152	0·5	0·6	670	1·4	2·7
1965	…	…	4370	9·9	15·2	300	0·5	0·8	798	1·2	2·3
1966	…	…	4694	11·4	15·2	274	0·5	0·9	1169	2·5	4·6
1967	…	…	3969	8·4	12·5	261	0·4	0·9	1591	3·2	5·2
1968	…	…	4165	9·4	13·1	369	0·7	1·3	2159	3·5	4·7
1969‡	…	…	2549	3·5	4·6	336	0·5	0·9	1964	3·5	5·3

			Merseyside			Scotland
			Area	E.A.E.		Area	E.A.E.
				M.	T.		M.	T.
1960	…	…	2421	3·0	4·8	4075	4·5	7·6
1961	…	…	3081	6·5	9·4	3498	3·9	7·8
1962	…	…	2088	1·5	3·0	5239	12·8	16·6
1963	…	…	3373	9·0	10·4	3880	7·0	9·6
1964	…	…	1990	2·0	3·4	3946	5·7	11·0
1965	…	…	4630	10·1	12·2	4326	8·1	12·0
1966	…	…	1754	3·6	5·8	6292	10·0	18·6
1967	…	…	1812	1·7	3·8	5986	9·8	16·6
1968	…	…	2768	4·4	6·9	4102	7·3	13·2
1969‡	…	…	831	0·9	1·3	3404	5·6	7·9

NOTES:

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will publish a table showing the number of primary and secondary children, respectively, and by area, who were receiving part-time education at the latest convenient date.

I would refer the hon. Member to the Answer which I gave him on 22nd January—[Vol. 794 c. 190–1.] The numbers of pupils in the several areas were:

			Primary	Secondary
Glasgow	…	…	3,770	129
Ayrshire	…	…	619	—
Dunbartonshire	…	…	—	801
Lanarkshire	…	…	181	1,326
Renfrewshire	…	…	467	1,191
			5,037	3,447

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what consideration he has given to the provision of a dual carriageway southwards to the Coatbridge boundary; and what is the estimated total cost, the cost to the Exchequer, and the starting and completion dates.

I have told Coatbridge Town Council that grant at the rate of 75 per cent has been reserved to enable work to begin this year. The estimated total cost is £200,000, and the scheme should take up to two years to complete

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the estimated subsidy provided annually for a local authority house comprising two, three, four and five apartment houses, respectively, during the last ten years.

The basic subsidy under the Housing and Town Development (Scotland) Act, 1957, was a fixed sum of £24 a year, and under the Housing (Scotland) Act, 1962, was, depending on the local authority's financial position, either £12 or £32 a year; these subsidies did not vary with the size of the house. Under the current legislation, which applies to almost all houses approved since 1st January, 1965, the basic subsidy is related to the cost of the houses and to prevailing interest rates: it is not practicable to give figures for houses of various sizes, but for houses completed in the last four financial years the average amounts for all houses have been:

£
1965–66	…	…	…	…	60
1966–67	…	…	…	…	68
1967–68	…	…	…	…	77
1968–69	…	…	…	…	98

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what is his estimate for the current year of public expenditure on development of sport in Scotland; to how many organisations grants have been made to the last convenient date; and what is his estimate of the number of people benefiting.

The total Vote provision for grants for sport and physical recreation in Scotland in the current financial year is £0·822 million. Grants are made to 45 national voluntary organisations for headquarters administration and coaching or for participation in international events or both. So far this year, capital grants have been offered to 76 local sports organisations and 19 district councils. Undoubtedly very many people benefit or will benefit from these grants but I cannot estimate the number.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many farm units, to the nearest convenient date, in Upper Banffshire and in Banffshire as a whole, have applied for registration as accredited herds under the Brucellosis Eradication Scheme; and how many have been accredited, how many rejected, and how many have become accredited on re-testing, in each case.

An analysis of the applications received up to 31st January, 1970, is set out in the table below:

	Upper Banff	Banff
Applications	69	105
Rejections	5	6
Withdrawals	22	26
Herds undergoing testing	17	45
Accredited herds	25*	28*
	69	105
* Includes herds which failed Scheme tests but became accredited after re-testing	10	13

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what estimate he has made of the total rates receipts, including payments in lieu of rates, of Scottish local authorities in 1969–70; and what was the corresponding figure for 1968–69.

On the basis of information relating to 97·5 per cent. of Scottish rateable value the total estimated income in 1969–70 from rates, including payments in lieu of rates, amounts to about £175 million; the corresponding figure for 1968–69 was about £159 million.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the total loan debt of local authorities in Scotland at the latest convenient date, the amount of such debt owed to the Public Works Loan Board, and the main sources of the remainder of the loans.

At the end of 1967–68 the loan debt was £1,626 million—including inter-authority loans and transfers of £14 million—of which £598 million was owed to the Public Works Loan Board. The other main sources are the banks, the stock market, the specialist local authority money market and the public.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what estimate he made, after the economy measures of January, 1968, of the planned approvals for local authority housing in the year 1969; and what was the actual number of approvals of local authority houses in 1969.

The number of local authority houses approved in 1969 was 26,806. Planned approvals relate to the public sector—covering the local authorities, the new towns and the Scottish

CUMULATIVE APPROVALS
Total from 1st January, 1965 to 31st December							Planned	Actual
1965	…	…	…	…	…	…	30,000	31,676
1966	…	…	…	…	…	…	62,000	62,380
1967	…	…	…	…	…	…	96,000	101,478
1968	…	…	…	…	…	…	130,500	135,227
1969	…	…	…	…	…	…	167,000	168,983

PROGRESS BY YEARS
		Approved	Approved and awaiting start	Construction started	Under construction	Completed
1st January, 1965	…		12,644		35,913
1965	…	31,676		31,935		26,584
1st January, 1966	…		12,385		41,264
1966	…	30,704		27,096		27,515
1st January, 1967	…		15,993		40,845
1967	…	39,098		34,951		33,222
1st January, 1968	…		20,140		42,574
1968	…	33,749		34,009		32,011
1st January, 1969	…		19,880		44,572
1969	…	33,756		30,393		33,932
1st January, 1970	…		23,243		41,033

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will institute an independent review of Scottish housing finance, both in the public and in the private sectors, as recommended by the Aviemore Seminar, details of which have been sent to him.

No. The review of housing finance which we are making will take account of all relevant considerations.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many credited accounts of local authorities for previous years he is still awaiting, after the statutory date for submission to him; what is the earliest year for which such accounts are awaited; and if he will list the authorities concerned.

The information is set out in the table below:

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what are the figures for private housing completions in Scotland for 1969, and for private housing starts; how these figures compare with each year since 1965; and how they compare with the figures in the public sector.

Figures for private houses are as follows:

				Started	Completed
1965	…	…	…	8,619	7,553
1966	…	…	…	8,386	7,870
1967	…	…	…	8,259	7,498
1968	…	…	…	9,918	8,719
1969	…	…	…	8,640	8,327

As regards the public sector, I refer to my reply today to a question by the hon. Member for Ayr (Mr. Younger).

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the total capital income of Scottish local authorities in 1968–69.

£243·2 million according to the local authority returns of estimated capital payments for the year.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many schools in Rochester and Chatham have outside lavatories.

I understand that 8 primary schools have only outside lavatories. A further 5 have some lavatories outside and some inside.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is her latest estimate of the annual cost of running the proposed new Railway Museum at York.

The net running costs are estimated at £50,000-£55,000, including the Record Office which will be an integral part of the Museum.

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether he will now announce his intentions in the matter of a further grant to the Czechoslovak Student Scholarship Fund.

I received representations from the Committee administering the Czechoslovak Student Scholarship Fund that it had insufficient funds to finance some of the Czechoslovak students who satisfy the Committee's criteria for a maintenance award. The Government have decided to make additional grants to the Committee and a Supplementary Estimate of £6,000 for the current financial year will be laid before Parliament in due course. Meanwhile, the money will be advanced from the Civil Contingencies Fund. A further grant of £13,000 will be proposed in the Department's estimates for 1970–71.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment and Productivity why the Government have agreed to a 20 per cent. increase in pay to the forces, increases to dockers, 10 per cent. to Post Office workers, 8 per cent. for policemen, and increases for gas, water and electricity workers; and what progress has been made on the question of implementing the nurses' and teachers' claims for increased pay.

The Government have not recently approved general increases in pay for Armed Forces, dockers or policemen. An offer averaging 9·4 per cent. by the Post Office and agreements relating to water and electricity workers were accepted in the light of the guidance in the White Paper on Productivity, Prices and Incomes Policy after 1969 (Cmnd. 4237); the Government were not satisfied with the agreement relating to gas workers. The questions of absorbing the effect of the gas agreement without price increases, and pay and productivity in the water industry, have been referred to the National Board for Prices and Incomes.There is to be a further meeting of the Nurses and Midwives Whitley Council today. At a meeting of the Burnham Committee on 6th February no agreement was reached: the Committee is to meet again on 15th February.

asked the Secretary of State for Employment and Productivity

PERCENTAGE RATES OF UNEMPLOYMENT IN THE DEVELOPMENT AREAS
			South Western	Merseyside	Northern	Scottish	Welsh
January, 1970	…	…	6·0	3·8	5·1	4·6	4·8
June, 1969	…	…	3·6	3·3	4·3	3·6	4·0
January, 1969	…	…	6·0	3·4	5·2	4·4	4·8
June, 1968	…	…	3·5	3·1	4·2	3·8	4·1
January, 1968	…	…	6·0	3·3	4·7	4·7	5·0
June, 1967	…	…	3·3	3·1	3·7	3·8	4·2
January, 1967	…	…	6·1	3·3	3·9	4·4	4·9
June, 1966	…	…	2·3	2·0	2·0	2·6	2·6
June, 1965	…	…	2·6	2·4	2·1	2·7	2·5
June, 1964	…	…	2·4	3·4	2·9	3·5	2·4

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has yet reached a decision on the request made in the letter of 16th January from the hon. Member for Hertford asking for an inquiry into the conditions prevailing at Rochester Borstal; and whether the information sent with that letter will be made available to the authorities which are inquiring into the fire which took place on 20th January.

The deaths following this tragic fire have already been investigated at a coroner's inquest and found to have been caused by misadventure. This borstal presents difficult problems of control and treatment, and my right hon. Friend has established a working party to examine them. The working party will be informed about previous incidents at Rochester, including the one mentioned in the hon. Member's letter.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department, in

Development areas were designated in August, 1966. Rates of unemployment for the development areas are available for each month from that date. Rates have also been calculated retrospectively for June each year for the years 1956 to 1966.Following is the information for each January from 1967 to 1970 and for each June from 1964 to 1969:view of public concern about the increasing number of fires, when he intends to introduce legislation to strengthen and rationalise the law relating to fire precautions in residential establishments and places of public resort.

As soon as Parliamentary time permits.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department by what authority he has detained 13 Kenyan Asians in Canterbury gaol; how long they will be kept there; and what is the appeal procedure available to them under his regulations.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department by what authority he has detained young Kenyan Asians in Canterbury Prison: what consideration he gave to the number of Asians having United Kingdom citizenship now without employment prospects in Commonwealth countries in East Africa before reaching this decision; and whether he will make a statement on his policy in this matter.

Commonwealth citizens subject to immigration control who are refused admission to the United Kingdom are detained under power contained in the First Schedule to the Commonwealth Immigrants Act, 1962, pending further examination or the giving of removal directions. There is at present no formal appeal procedure, but representations received from or on behalf of a passenger are fully considered.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action has been taken or is intended concerning the matters referred to him by the hon. Member for West Ham, North, giving particulars of persons who have taken part in thuggery and intend continuing with physical assaults upon people.

The Metropolitan police are doing all they can to prevent crime, including crimes of the kind described in the newspaper articles to which my hon. Friend drew attention, and to bring offenders to justice.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he is satisfied with the regulations in force for the prevention of fires in bingo halls; and if he will make a statement.

My right hon. Friend proposes to introduce new legislation, when Parliamentary time permits, to strengthen and rationalise the law relating to fire precautions in certain residential establishments and places of public resort, including bingo halls. Meanwhile, the Gaming Act, 1968, empowers licensing authorities to refuse a licence if the fire precautions in a bingo hall are not satisfactory.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will issue a distinctive form E.C.10 for use by doctors who prescribe within the National Health Service drugs which have not been passed by the Committee for Safety of Drugs.