asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will call for a report from the Chief Constable on the level of police recruiting in Hampshire.

149 persons have been recruited to the Hampshire Constabulary in the first ten months of this year, compared with 129 in the whole of 1969 and 98 in 1968.

I thank the hon. Gentleman for that reply. Would he not agree that the Hampshire Police have a creditable record of crime detection and that this represents a heavy load on the existing staff because of the difficulties in recruitment? Would he not also agree that, as in other parts of the country, it is totally unfair to exploit the sense of service and loyalty of the police and that it is high time that the country ensured that the police have adequate conditions of service and proper pay?

I am certain that no one in the House, least of all my right hon. Friend, wishes in any way to exploit the loyalty of the police. Negotiations about pay are now proceeding in the Police Council and it would be quite inappropriate for me to say anything about that. As a resident of Hampshire, I fully endorse the hon. Gentleman's tribute to the Hampshire Police.

It is not in order to anticipate a later Question on the Order Paper.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what further steps he proposes to take to encourage recruitment into the police force; what inducements he proposes to offer serving personnel to remain; and whether he will postpone the retirement age owing to the serious manpower shortage.

Recruiting by individual forces is being assisted by a substantial increase this year in national publicity; and in agreement with the local authority associations provision has been made for helping in some local recruiting campaigns. With regard to pay, I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply already given today to Questions by other Members. As regards retirement, police officers may be granted extensions of service of up to five years in suitable cases. I doubt if a general change in the compulsory retirement age is called for.

Does my right hon. Friend feel that he will be able to find a way of encouraging personnel who retire this year after 25 years' service to remain in the service, bearing in mind their pension provisions? Does he recognise that, quite irrespective of pay, the basis of recruitment depends upon attractive terms and conditions of service? Will he look carefully into those conditions to ensure that the police are able to obtain the type of assistance which all of us expect to receive in our commercial and general life?

Both of my hon. Friend's points are very important, and I can assure him that they are very much in the mind of the Police Council. It is important that I should say again that the problem is not only recruiting but wastage. In some ways the wastage of trained constables is a bigger problem than recruiting.

Will the Home Secretary encourage the use of the Willink formula when questions of pay and conditions of the police are discussed?

If I answered that, I should be doing what I said I ought not to do, namely, make a statement while negotiations are in progress.

Would it not help if a special effort were made to recruit special constables, who can do much to help the police at times of great stress?

That is a different point, but I shall be glad to examine it.

Is not the easiest and simplest way of getting all the police that the right hon. Gentleman wants for the Government to give them the 43 per cent. increase which they gave to the chairmen of the nationalised boards and people in the higher Civil Service?

That may be an easy and simple way. I doubt whether it is a wise way.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what inducements he proposes to offer to university graduates to encourage their recruitment into the police; and whether he will offer terms within the Metropolis enabling recruits to choose service exclusive to the Department of Criminal Investigation.

A graduate entry scheme introduced in October, 1968 offers the prospect of accelerated promotion to successful candidates. The suggestion that there should be direct recruitment into Criminal Investigation Departments for service confined to those Departments has been considered on previous occasions and has been rejected on grounds which remain valid.

Will my hon. Friend confirm that the graduate entry scheme as it stands is a complete failure? It has not been taken up by the universities, and they find it unattractive. If we are to succeed, youth must be offered the service it wants. Is it true to say that detective investigation is the same as the general duties of the police force? The universities want the opportunity to defeat organised crime. Will not the Home Secretary look at this carefully and give them an opportunity of doing so?

Long questions mean fewer questions.

I do not accept that the graduate entry scheme has been a complete failure. I should like to see many more graduates coming into the police force. The matter raised in the second part of my hon. Friend's supplementary question was examined carefully. Both the Working Party and the Royal Commissison came down firmly against the proposal of having a separate force and separate recruitment for the C.I.D. for very strong reasons. I think that those reasons were correct.

Does not the hon. Gentleman agree that a return to the now sadly eroded standards of the Willink Commission would be an important means of encouraging police recruitment at all levels?

We are getting back to the subject of police pay, which is a separate question.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will make a statement on the level of recruiting and the adequacy of training facilities for the Child Care Service.

During the 12 months ending 31st March, 1970, the number of child care officers employed by local authorities in England and Wales increased from 3,223 to 3,550, and the number of trainee officers from 368 to 444. The number of persons awarded the Letter of Recognition of the Central Training Council in Child Care was 519 last year, and will be about 660 this year. My right hon. Friend has approved plans to increase this to 850 in 1971–72, as a step towards a target of 1,100.

I thank the hon. Gentleman for that reply. Would he not agree that there is still a great deal of concern in this important profession about the shortage of staff to do the work adequately in view of increasing responsibilities? Would he not also agree that if we are to have adequate staff for this important social job, conditions of service and pay must be given priority?

I entirely agree with the hon. Gentleman that the implementation of parts of the Children and Young Persons Act, 1969, will inevitably put further burdens on child care officers. It is estimated by the local authorities that their establishments at 31st March, 1971, will be 650 more than they were the year before, but there is no reason to regard such an increase as impossible of achievement. What the hon. Gentleman said in his second question clearly applies to all people in public work.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what increase he proposes in the provision of after-care services for prisoners on release.

The strengthening of the probation and after-care service; the continuance of financial aid to voluntary organisations to enable them to provide various facilities, including an increasing number of after-care hostels; and the encouragement of experimental provision such as organised systems of retained lodgings.

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that these added facilities are most welcome? However, would he not agree that while the probation service has a salary structure which puts it at the lowest end of the professional workers, it will have difficulty in recruiting the right type of person for this work?

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for what he said about the extra provision of hostels. He will know that we have recently announced new targets for the probation service to achieve these ends and we hope that people will be forthcoming to enter the probation service.

Will my hon. Friend consider giving special Government aid to the After-care Trust of the Carnegie Foundation to help it in its work of providing hostels for alcoholic and homeless ex-prisoners?

I assure my hon. Friend that, having seen it in only the last 24 hours, I am most impressed by the work being done with hostels for alcoholics. However, there are 1,000 hostel places supported by the Home Office with an annual grant of £150 for normal places and £250 for the more troublesome kind of resident, such as the ex-alcoholic.

Would not the hon. Gentleman agree that the increase in the number of child care officers has often been at the expense of the probation service? Will he at least attempt to remove the adverse differential between the pay for probation officers and that in the child care service?

I am not aware that there is any evidence that justifies that statement, but it is one of the matters which must be taken into account when considering the future of the probation service.

On a point of order. As the hon. Gentleman did not answer my supplementary question, I intend to raise the matter on the Adjournment at the first opportunity.

Hon. Members should give notice of their intention to raise matters on the Adjournment in the conventional form.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what further steps he will take to control private clubs in London and other major towns and cities.

My right hon. Friend has no plans at present for further legislation on this subject.

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that the tourist industry is of great benefit to this nation and that an awful lot of tourists are taken in by the confidence tricksters and thieves who run a lot of night spots in London and the other major cities?

If the hon. Gentleman is referring to what are often known as "clip joints", all I can say is that, of course, I am aware that complaints are made from time to time about the extortionate charges being made, but with respect I do not feel that this is necessarily a matter wholly for the law. It is a question of the exercise of the proper degree of caution by the individual who goes into them.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will set up an inquiry into the operations of laws relating to Sunday entertainments, Sunday trading, shop hours, and the licensing of premises for the consumption of intoxicating liquor.

I am considering the position on liquor licensing. I do not think that an inquiry is necessary to forward consideration of the other matters.

I am grateful to the right hon. Gentleman for that reply. Is he aware that he has a great reputation for being an apostle of freedom? In these days of the alleged permissive society, is it not true that a lot of old-fashioned restrictions still prevent the ordinary citizen from exercising quite a legitimate amount of freedom?

I have a great deal of sympathy for what the hon. Member says. I hope to be able to make some contribution.

Could my right hon. Friend say whether he feels that he will be able to make a fairly early announcement of his views about licensing? Will he particularly bear in mind the great call in the country now for the family as a whole to be able to use the premises and also the desire of the industry to keep some reasonable hours with first-class management while at the same time obtaining that greater flexibility in the choice of those hours?

I am aware of these considerations and hope to be able to put something to the House on this subject in the very near future.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will make provision for police officers to receive extra pay for working overtime, at night and on Sundays.

Police pay is in the first instance a matter for the Police Council.

Would the hon. Gentleman agree that the police in Leicester and elsewhere do an excellent job in spite of being heavily understaffed? To ease that understaffing, civilians have been brought in at Leicester to do part of their work. Is he aware that those civilians are being offered shift allowances and pay for Sunday duties? Does he not feel that it is unfair to discriminate against uniformed police officers in this way?

While paying tribute to the Leicester police, as to all other police forces, I feel that these matters concerning pay and conditions must be properly discussed in the Police Council.

rose—

Question No. 8, Mr. Davidson. Order—Sir Gerald Nabarro.

Oh.

Mr. Speaker forgot my name.

Order. That is perfectly correct.

Would the hon. Gentleman take early steps to denounce as strictly undesirable the introduction of trade union rules into the police force?

This arises on a later Question, but I do not think that it arises out of this one.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will now make a further statement on police pay.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will make a statement on the police pay negotiations.

An offer made by the Official Side at a meeting on 30th November of the Pay Review sub-committee of the appropriate Police Council committee was rejected by the Staff Side. Negotiations have not been broken off and I understand that a further offer may shortly be made by the Official Side.

Is it not clear that, whatever the reason and whoever is to blame, police pay is shockingly low? A police constable with 15 years' service and an average-sized family has take-home pay of about £80 a month. Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that thousands of men who joined after the war will soon have completed 25 years' service and will be opting out in large numbers?

The latter point is very much in the minds of all concerned. It would be wrong for me to comment on these matters while negotiations are in progress.

Is the Home Secretary aware of the present state of morale in the police and the feeling that, because of the Government's view on pay rises in the public sector, they will be pushed to the back of the queue, and that the effect on morale is a great encouragement to criminals and crime in general?

I do not share the hon. Gentleman's view about the state of morale in the police forces. The Government have made it clear that they intend to strengthen the police forces.

Although it is right not to intervene while the talks are still going on, and although I recognise the danger of inflation as a result of unnecessary wage increases, will my right hon. Friend bear in mind that the whole nation will expect a fair deal to be given to the police?

I am well aware of the width and strength of feeling on this matter.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that the so-called revised offer was completely unacceptable to the staff side on Monday because it was not a true revision at all but merely a rearrangement of the original offer which left some police officers worse off than they would have been under the original offer?

As I have said, I understand that the offer was rejected and that a further offer may shortly be made.

Will my right hon. Friend bear in mind that I think that the police should be treated as a unique body and I want them to get the maximum that they can? I hope that we do not have to argue about this matter either with my right hon. Friend or with the Treasury.

After many years' experience, I always dislike arguing with my hon. Friend. I think that the general feeling in the House is that the police forces are in a very special position and there is a general desire that they should be strengthened.

Does the right hon. Gentleman agree that it is highly likely that the increase in the number of police officers in England and Wales this year will be only half the average increase achieved over the last five years and that only a very substantial injection of resources can enable the number to come anywhere near establishment strength?

There may be later exchanges on that matter. Recruitment has recently been showing a very encouraging improvement, but I agree that there is a long way to go.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will introduce legislation to amend the Criminal Justice Act to enable committal proceedings to be reported as of right.

My right hon. Friend does not think that the time has yet come to reconsider these provisions.

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that both he and I have expressed certain criticisms of those particular Sections of the Act, well intentioned though they were? Is he further aware that as recently as last week Lord Justice Edmund Davies criticised the working of the Act? Does he not think that the time has come—to obviate any feeling on the part of the public that the important facts are being hidden from them—for an inquiry to look into the working of this part of the Act?

I am still aware of the views that I and the hon. Gentleman expressed during the Committee stage of this Act. I would remind him that he did not then, as his Question does, ask us to enable committal proceedings to be recorded as of right. The argument then, of the hon. Gentleman and myself, was that the defendant should have the right to refuse publication rather than that he should have the right to require publication. My right hon. Friend feels that, since this legislation is still recent, we should allow further time to elapse before deciding whether it neds any amendment.

Does the hon. Gentleman not agree that as the Act has run for about three years, the time has come when we should have a comprehensive review of its working?

If the hon. Gentleman is referring to the Criminal Justice Act as a whole, then I am sure that there are many parts of it which may need to be looked at again and which may need legislation in a future Session of this Parliament. Dealing with this particular point, I do not think that there is evidence that it is working against the interests of justice.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he is satisfied as to the working of the Legal Aid Scheme, particularly in relation to criminal cases; and if he will make a statement.

In general, the legal aid scheme in criminal proceedings seems to be operating as intended. Legal aid in civil proceedings is a matter for my noble and learned Friend the Lord Chancellor.

Would the hon. Gentleman agree that when a person is called upon to plead in a higher court he is normally granted legal aid if he is not represented? Does he further agree that this is time-consuming for the courts and is unfair on the prisoner in that his counsel has to prepare a plea of mitigation in a complicated case without much time when the man is facing a long sentence of imprisonment? Would it not be better to grant him legal aid automatically when he is sent to a higher court?

I think the answer here is that a greater proportion of applications for legal aid at committal are already being granted. I cannot give those figures, but I can tell the hon. Gentleman that a combination between those granted legal aid on committal and those granted it by the court of trial meant that in 1969, out of 40,000 people appearing for trial at assizes and quarter sessions, only 847 were unrepresented.

Will my hon. Friend make it clear to his right hon. Friend that many of us on this side of the House feel that it would be essential to extend legal aid to persons appearing before industrial tribunals under the Industrial Relations Bill?

That is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Employmeint. I will see that my hon. Friend's views are conveyed to him.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what inquiries he has caused to be made, and by whom, to see that, in accordance with his regulations, all taxi journeys from Heathrow to Central London are charged by the clock.

The enforcement of this branch of the law is a matter for the police and the British Airports Authority.

Is my hon. Friend aware that, although the situation has improved, the inadequate provision and instruction given by the Airports Authority has resulted in large numbers of people who come to this country and do not know any different being the victims of fiddles on the part of a limited number of drivers?

I am aware that there is a problem. We have recently had the report of the Committee investigating the London taxicab trade which conducted a special investigation into the whole of the problem. It will be necessary for the report to be studied and for consultations to take place.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will announce the allocation of additional funds to local authorities in areas of high immigrant settlement.

I shall shortly be issuing approvals for some £5 million worth of further schemes under the urban programme, which benefits areas of special social need, including many where there are immigrants. I also estimate that for the present financial year expenditure totalling some £6,300,000 will be approved for Exchequer grant under Section 11 in respect of the employment of special additional staff.

Is my right hon. Friend aware how much this statement will be welcomed by citizens in areas of high immigrant settlement and in areas where the rateable value is particularly low? Is he aware that this is a compassionate measure which will receive a warm welcome?

Does this announcement mean that extra, new figures of money are now available or is it precisely based on the allocation of funds made by the previous Administration?

We have always made it clear that we were to continue with what I call the expanding programme.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will facilitate the naturalisation of longstanding British residents who were formerly displaced persons from Eastern Europe and from countries that are now embodied in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.

Any foreign national who has been living in the United Kingdom for five years satisfies the residential qualifications for naturalisation. My right hon. Friend is not aware of any need to make special arrangements for particular classes of people.

Will my hon. Friend take into consideration the fact that all these displaced persons who came into the country after the war greatly contributed to the British economy and way of life? Will he ensure that when new legislation is brought into effect dealing with immigration, their requirements for naturalisation will be brought into line with those of new Commonwealth immigrants?

I do not think that there is any need to make any special provision, but if my hon. Friend has any particular case which he wishes to bring to my notice, I should be happy to hear from him.

Are the rules for aliens' naturalisation and the rules on registration for Commonwealth citizens to be changed in the expected Bill?

The hon. Gentleman will have to await the publication of the Bill.

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that there are many people from Eastern Europe who are living in this country in a state of uncertainty and disquiet? Would he look into their position particularly sympathetically, and would he show the same liberal attitude towards those American citizens in this country who are here because they have refused to fight in the Vietnam war?

The latter part of the hon. Gentleman's question refers to a Question which is already on the Order Paper for answer later.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has for the future of the Community Relations Commission.

For it to continue to carry out its statutory functions under the Race Relations Act, 1968. As already announced, the Commission is reviewing ways of strengthening its organisation and training arrangements. The results of this review should provide a solid foundation on which to plan the development of community relations work.

I thank my right hon. Friend for that reply and congratulate him on appointing Mr. Mark Bonham Carter as the new Chairman of the Commission. Will my right hon. Friend point out to Mr. Bonham Carter that one of the most urgent tasks facing the Commission is to define the essential task of the Commission and, once he has done so, to make it known to the public?

I look forward to an early discussion with Mr. Bonham Carter about the future of the Commission when he has had a chance to get into the saddle.

In areas where local authorities are not making the best use of the urban aid programme, will the right hon. Gentleman consider the possibility of providing the Community Relations Commission with funds for specific project works in areas of stress?

It is important always to insist that the urban aid programme is for urban areas of special need and not solely for immigrant areas. If the hon. Gentleman has any suggestions to make, I should be happy to receive them.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will legislate to ensure that students at universities, colleges and polytechnics should be entitled to be registered as voters only in their normal place of residence, and that that designation should exclude their place of study unless they have no other residence in the United Kingdom.

I have nothing to add to the reply to a Question on this subject which I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Rye (Mr. Bryant Godman Irvine) on 29th October.—[Vol. 805, c. 176.]

Does my hon. Friend appreciate that, whatever view one may take of the student vote in national elections—and personally I have no reason to regret it—its impact in local elections can cause very deep and great resentment, particularly when students are concentrated in one or two wards of a university city?

I appreciate the problem to which my hon. Friend refers. But the recent judgment of the Court of Appeal clarified the law on residence as a whole and it is this law which we may need to consider at some stage. It would not be possible, in considering it, to differentiate in the case of students.

Will the hon. Gentleman resist the view of the hon. Member for Oxford (Mr. Woodhouse)? Will he agree that there is no reason why students alone should be excluded from double residence qualifications when wealthy members of the Tory Party have them? It would be quite wrong to accept this suggestion at a time when the Government are rigging the qualification for candidates in local elections.

As I said in answer to my hon. Friend, it is the law of residence as a whole which we may need to consider.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures he intends to take to reduce overcrowding in prisons.

A major programme of new building is being implemented, and measures to increase the use of non-custodial penalties are under consideration.

I thank the right hon. Gentleman for his reply. As non-custodial treatment depends so much on the probation service, I draw the attention of the right hon. Gentleman to the report in today's Press that many probation officers are having to take second jobs to make ends meet. Will he consider at least reviewing the conditions of service of probation officers?

The Question is about overcrowding in prisons.

There have been some extremely interesting articles in the newspapers about conditions in prisons. The hon. Gentleman's second point is dealt with in a later Question.

When does the Home Secretary hope to make an announcement on the non-custodial situation?

Not in the immediate future. I hope I am in order in saying that this was discussed yesterday in another place, and the discussion was very valuable.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will introduce legislation to extend to persons charged with assault on a police officer the right to claim trial by a jury.

The law relating to offences against the person is under review by the Criminal Law Revision Committee. The review will include the law governing assaults on police officers.

Is not this an anomaly which arises out of a rather odd decision of the House of Lords in 1966 which must be put right? Is it not absurd that, whereas in all other cases in which the penalty on summary conviction is more than three months' imprisonment the man can elect trial by jury, in these serious cases where the penalty on summary conviction is six months' imprisonment the man does not have the right to elect trial by jury?

My hon. Friend is right in saying that this arises out of a decision given by the Divisional Court in, I think, 1965 that offences under Section 51 of the Police Act, 1954 of assaulting a police officer in the execution of his duty are not triable on election before a jury. As I say, this whole subject is now being considered by the Criminal Law Revision Committee, and this is one of the matters that Committee will take into account.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many minors have been held on remand in premises within the precincts of Wormwood Scrubs in each of the last five years.

Three in 1965, none in 1966, 16 in 1967, six in 1968 and one in 1969. These figures relate to receptions of persons under 21 years of age not already serving a sentence.

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that this causes a great deal of anxiety in my constituency? To be in Wormwood Scrubs is one thing, but to be a minor on remand in Wormwood Scrubs is another. Will the hon. Gentleman take urgent steps to ensure that minors are sent elsewhere than Wormwood Scrubs?

With respect to the hon. Gentleman, they are; they go to Ashford. The figures I have given are very small, and they relate to those on remand at Wormwood Scrubs who have normally been transferred from Ashford to the surgical or psychiatric centre in Wormwood Scrubs. There is also the question of the allocation wing for borstals in Wormwood Scrubs, but that is another question.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will seek to encourage chief constables to extend the system of foot patrols on the beat in order to arrest the ever-increasing rate of vandalism.

The deployment of police manpower is the responsibility of chief officers of police. I am quite sure they have in mind the importance of finding effective ways of checking vandalism.

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that the public are becoming increasingly apprehensive about the ever-increasing, mindless vandalism that is taking place? For example, last Friday night my car was damaged by vandals during a 35-minute visit to my constituents. It not the only way to deal with this to put men on the beat where they are known?

I am well aware of the growth of vandalism, and, like the hon. Gentleman, I deplore this tendency. The growth of unit beat policing, which goes back almost to the village constable idea, is probably the best development, and this is taking place in many police forces. I welcome this.

Will the hon. Gentleman say why it was impossible for him to answer my Parliamentary Question about the number of policemen on duty each night in my constituency, and why he was unable to answer a similar Question from another hon. Member? Will he now answer those Questions or tell us why he cannot answer them?

If I remember aright, the hon. Gentleman asked me about the number of police available in particular areas at particular times. I do not think it would be in the public interest to disclose those figures.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the estimated annual cost of paying the loss of earnings allowance for which provision is made in the Justices of the Peace Act, 1968.

About £500,000 in a full year.

Will the hon. Gentleman accept that a large part of that £500,000 represents loss of earnings to working men who can ill afford the loss which has been incurred in carrying out their duties to the public when serving as justices of the peace? Unless the 1968 Act is fully implemented soon, will there not inevitably be a detrimental effect on the composition of the bench, since working men will be unable to continue with those duties, and only those with private means will be able to serve as justices of the peace?

Since the reply to the Question gave the estimated cost of paying the loss of earnings allowance, I accept that the vast proportion of the £500,000 I mentioned goes to that cost. As to the merits of the case, I cannot add anything to what was said in an earlier reply, that this matter is at present being considered but that my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary is not yet in a position to make a statement.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will discontinue the employment of Securicor in connection with the supervision of immigrants who are refused entry into this country.

No, Sir.

Will the hon. Gentleman say why Securicor should be promoted to being a subsidiary private police or immigration service? Would not it be preferable for the immigration service to employ its own people in this particularly sensitive area and to assume responsibility for training? If Securicor are to be employed, would not it be better for them to be in plain clothes?

This arrangement was carried out on behalf of the airlines at London Airport for 2½ years before it was introduced to the immigration service, and we have received no complaints about it.

In view of the unsatisfactory nature of that reply, I shall seek leave to raise the matter on the Adjournment.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he is satisfied with the working of arrangements for terminal leave from Her Majesty's Prisons; and if he will make a statement.

My right hon. Friend is satisfied that the scheme, which is about to be extended, makes as generous provision for home leave as is practicable in present circumstances. I am aware of the case which has caused concern to the hon. Gentleman and will write to him again about it.

Does not the hon. Gentleman agree that arrangements for terminal leave would be fairer if they were tied to the length of sentence rather than to the type of institution in which a prisoner by chance finds himself?

I agree that there is a distinction between those who are in a training prison or a local prison in the matter of qualifying for terminal leave. At the moment the pressure of resources, both in the prison service and in the probation service, is such that it would be impossible to extend the provisions for local prisons to bring them into line with those operating in training prisons. On the other hand, the Government have announced that from next January they will bring the threshold down and will allow more people within the local prisons to becomes entitled to home leave.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will make a statement of policy on his Department's study together with the British Broadcasting Corporation and the Independent Television Authority on the subject of violence on television.

With my right hon. Friend the Minister of Posts and Telecommunications and my hon. Friend the Minister of State, Scottish Office, I recently met the Chairmen of the B.B.C. and I.T.A. and was given an account of new machinery set up by each Authority with a view to strengthening arrangements for keeping the portrayal of violence on television under close control. I stressed my concern at the possible adverse effects of excessive violence on television, and I welcome the initiative taken by each Authority in setting up these arrangements, the operation of which I shall watch with interest.

Does the Home Secretary realise that that statement will be very welcome in all parts of the House? Could he do something further to help by publishing a White Paper and collating the various investigations that have been carried out into the effects of violence on television in order to decrease public confusion in this matter?

I will certainly consider that, but the fact is that investigations so far have produced very little in the way of concrete conclusions. It is a very baffling problem indeed.

I welcome the Home Secretary's statement. This is a subject in which it is difficult to arrive at conclusions, but there is clearly a need for a continual and close watch on the activities of both the television authorities on the matter of violence. May I ask the right hon. Gentleman to consider the suggestion of the hon. Member for Chelmsford (Mr. St. John-Stevas), which I support, that a White Paper should be issued not only covering the existing state of studies but also containing the codes, which are not very well known, under which both authorities work, so that the public may know that the authorities themselves are observing the codes which they have laid down?

I will certainly consider that, and I am grateful for the right hon. Gentleman's support in my concern about this matter. Frankly, I am entirely following the lead that was taken by the right hon. Gentleman.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will bring the transport of butane, propane, and similar liquid gases under the scope of the Conveyance by Road Regulations.

My right hon. Friend will shortly be inviting the Home Office Standing Advisory Committee on Dangerous Substances to consider this.

I thank the hon. Gentleman for that Answer. I hope he will bear in mind that recently there has been a series of incidents in crowded areas, including one in my constituency at the height of the shopping hours in which great loss of life was avoided only by the coolness and courage of the driver concerned?

Yes, Sir. I am aware of the accident to which the hon. Gentleman refers.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether, in view of grave public disquiet concerning the photographing of certain persons by the police immediately outside or within the precincts of the Durham Magistrates' Court on 21st October, 1970, he will establish a public inquiry in addition to the investigation instituted by the Chief Constable of Durham.

An investigation has been carried out under Section 49 of the Police Act, 1964, and the Chief Constable of Durham has referred the investigating officer's report to the Director of Public Prosecutions. My right hon. Friend does not consider that any further inquiry is called for.

Will the hon. Gentleman agree to the publication of this report and, if not, why not?

No, Sir. It is not normal for a report of an investigation of this kind to be published. It is for the Director of Public Prosecutions to decide whether action should be taken.

Does the Minister recollect that I raised this matter with his Department a few days after the event and would he not agree that, in view of the delicate nature of this matter for all who have detailed knowledge of the situation, we must be extremely careful in how we handle the matter?

Yes, Sir. This is a matter which affects the hon. Member's constituency which he raised with me directly. I know that he realises the implications involved.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he has received any reports from his Departmental Working Party on the feasibility of using voting machines in both local and general elections; if he intends to publish such reports and in what form; and if he will make a statement.

An interim report on aspects of mechanical and electronic aids to voting and vote-counting was submitted some time ago, and is being put in the Library. Voting machines would be extremely expensive, and my right hon. Friend does not believe that they would offer enough advantages to outweigh the radical change in our traditional voting methods which they would require. He has therefore decided against any further study of their use. He is, however, arranging for further investigation of optical mark reading equipment for reading and counting ballot papers, and he will inform the House of the outcome in due course.

Did the working party consider the possibility that the cost of such machines might have been partly met by their being hired out to organisations, such as the trade unions and commercial organisations, which regularly conduct polls? In view of the forthcoming Industrial Relations Bill, would he not consider such machines to be a most effective way of conducting the strike ballot which will become compulsory when, unhappily, the Bill becomes an Act?

This whole question was considered in great detail, and I am sure that the decision reached by my right hon. Friend about these machines is right.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects to complete his consultations with the London taxicab trade on the recommendations of the Maxwell Stamp Committee, Command Paper No. 4483; and if he intends to introduce legislation based on the Committee's Report.

I cannot at present say how long consultations with the trade and other interests will take, or prejudge the legislation that may follow.

Would the hon. Gentleman not agree that legislation has become an act of urgency and, secondly, is he not aware that past precedent suggests that such legislation would be non-controversial and would go through this House and the other place quite speedily?

I am glad to have the hon. Gentleman's assurance that such legislation would be non-controversial; but I am sure he will agree that it is important for the Report to be considered properly, and also that consultations with those directly concerned should take place first.