asked the Minister of Posts and Telecommunications if he will take steps to reduce the television licence fee for the old and for the housebound.

asked the Minister of Posts and Telecommunications whether he will introduce legislation to allow all retirement pensioners free television licences.

asked the Minister of Posts and Telecommunications whether, in view of dissatisfaction felt by retirement pensioners with the present regulations governing concessions to such pensioners in respect of broadcast receiving licences, he will seek to extend the concessions.

No, Sir. However, I under- stand that local authorities have power to assist elderly and handicapped people with their television licences. It is, of course for the local authority concerned to use its judgment in providing this service.

Will the right hon. Gentleman say whether the Post Office ever intends to publish, and whether he has seen, the study undertaken by the University of Essex into the problem of isolation amongst the disabled and elderly housebound? Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that in Wales the Post Office and the union jointly are experimenting with the provision of licences for the elderly housebound on a non-economic basis?

As far as I know there are no plans by my Department or by the Post Office to publish the study to which the hon. Gentleman refers. I accept that television is extremely valuable to many elderly and sick people, but I do not believe that a concession of this kind would be the best way of meeting the need.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that all that old-age pensioners seem to get from his Government is compassion by the bucketful and great tidal waves of crocodile tears? All that is needed to provide this concession is about £35 million, which is substantially less than surtax payers will receive during the present financial year.

The hon. Gentleman has his own manner of putting supplementary questions, but the fact remains that it has been the policy of successive Governments that concessions on the licence fee are not the best way of meeting this problem.

As my right hon. Friend knows, we have been in correspondence on this matter on more than one occasion. Would he at least recognise that an increasing resentment is building up at the discrimination between those who live on an estate where there is a warden and those who do not? I know that my right hon. Friend is not responsible for having introduced the present measures, but this is becoming increasingly unfair and the problem must be resolved very soon.

As I have said to my hon. Friend, I recognise that wherever one draws the line there are bound to be difficulties. The difficulty stems from the fact that we license homes rather than sets and, therefore, a judgment has to be made as to what is a domestic household. Although the line where it is drawn now gives rise to difficulties, I believe that there is no satisfactory alternative.

Will the right hon. Gentleman appreciate that both sides of the House have from time to time shown that they would be prepared to make a concession, right across the board, to old people who live alone? The principle behind the Question is how we are to fight loneliness and give old people some companionship in their old age. Will the right hon. Gentleman have another look at this to see what can be done to provide free licences, right across the board, for all old people who live alone?

I shall continue to consider these matters and any suggestions that are put forward, but if we were to issue a free licence to all elderly people the cost would be about £27 million. If that sum were financed out of licence fees, it would mean that another £2 on the licence fee would be payable by the rest of the community and that many who were less well off would be subsidisine those who were better off.

asked the Minister of Posts and Telecommunications if he will make a statement on his proposals for commercial radio in Scotland.

In last Thursday's debate on the Sound Broadcasting Bill I said that it was the Authority's tentative view that Glasgow should be among the first stations. I cannot go beyond that at present.

Is the Minister aware that the proposals for commercial radio in Scotland are not being received with a great deal of enthusiasm? Will not the fact that we are likely to have commercial radio in Scotland and that there is at present a substantial downturn in advertising place local newspapers in a serious position? Some local newspapers are part of community life in Scotland and they depend upon advertising for their existence.

The proposals in the Bill take particular account of the position of newspapers. If the citizens of Glasgow, like the hon. Gentleman, do not wish to listen to commercial radio, it will not last very long. However, if they do, no doubt they will take into account his opposition.

asked the Minister of Posts and Telecommunications what steps he proposes to take to improve television and radio reception in Cornwall.

The B.B.C. and I.T.A., which are primarily responsible for the range and quality of the transmissions of their services, tell me that with the exception of small pockets of difficult reception they are receivable throughout Cornwall, provided efficient receivers and aerials are used.

Is the Minister aware that those pockets are rather larger than he has been given to understand and that this has been a recurring question for 20 years or more? During that time absolutely Sweet Fanny Adams has been done about it. Is it not fraudulent that hundreds of Cornish television viewers should have to pay a full licence fee for the privilege of watching a perpetual snowstorm four seasons if the year? If the right hon. Gentleman drives a car across my constituency he will find that the radio comes and goes in such a way as to make it virtually impossible to tell Bach from Bartok.

I am advised that the county is generally well served. Two out of the first 19 transmitting stations to transmit the new colour service were built in Cornwall. Nearly 60 will be required to provide for the United Kingdom as a whole.

asked the Minister of Posts and Telecommunications what is the latest supply position in regard to equipment for the installation of telephones.

This is a management matter for the Post Office. I would refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Newcastle-under-Lyme (Mr. Golding) on 28th October.—[Vol. 823, c. 479.]

Does the Minister recognise that there are serious delays in getting telephones installed in many parts of Wales? The answer that I am given on each occasion by telephone managers is shortage of equipment. Will the right hon. Gentleman advise the Post Office Corporation to start manufacturing equipment for itself, thereby also helping to solve the unemployment problem?

The Post Office is moving as fast as it can to meet increasing demand. To a large extent the capacity of the telephone service is determined by investment five years previously. Investment is now running at more than 50 per cent. higher than it was five years ago.

Will the Minister answer the point made by my hon. Friend the Member for Brecon and Radnor (Mr. Roderick) about manufacturing by the Post Office itself? The Minister seems continually to refer us to the Post Office Corporation. If the Corporation is to be a commercial organisation, should it not be allowed to make commercial judgments and operate in that way?

As I have told the hon. Gentleman before, I have received no application from the Post Office for permission to manufacture; nor do I believe that that will be any answer to the problems.

asked the Minister of Posts and Telecommunications whether he will make a statement on his proposals for increasing postal charges and economies in the postal services.

asked the Minister of Posts and Telecommunications whether he will make a statement about his proposals for increasing postal charges and economies in the postal services.

asked the Minister of Posts and Telecommunications if he will make a statement on proposed increases in postal charges.

I have made no proposals but the Post Office has now put its proposals, to which I referred in my answer of 3rd November to my hon. Friend the Member for Stratford-on-Avon (Mr. Maude) to the Post Office Users National Council for study. Neither the Govenment nor the Post Office is committed to them until the Council's comments are received.—[Vol. 825, c. 2.]

If the Post Office accepts all the proposals for restructuring the postal services, including the proposal for 25,000 redundancies, will not there still be a shortfall of £130 million on the statutory five-year financial target of the Post Office? Why do not the Post Office and the Minister take the nation into their confidence and tell it that there is to be another increase in postal charges in August of next year?

There are no proposals for a postal increase at any definite date ahead, though clearly the Post Office is not insulated from rising costs and nobody would pretend that it is. There are no proposals for 25,000 redundancies. The proposals that the Post Office has made would mean over the rest of the decade a reduced number of jobs, but these would be dealt with almost entirely by natural wastage.

I appreciate that the Post Office cannot be insulated from inflationary pressures, but will my right hon. Friend try to ensure that any increase in charges is matched by the removal of bureaucratic restrictions which irritate customers? My right hon. Friend will be aware that I am referring to the absurd rule that no more than five words of conventional greeting can be written on an unsealed Christmas card going overseas.

I am sure that the Post Office will take note of my hon. Friend's general point. As to the specific matter about which he is concerned, I understand that this is an international regulation governing the international printed paper rate. I am sure that the next time these matters come up for discussion at the Universal Postal Union, the Post Office will take account of my hon. Friend's views.

Can the Minister give a categorical assurance that there will be no increase in postal charges within the next 12 months? Will he further state that if what we read in the Press is true, the quality of the services that he and the Post Office intend to provide in future will be worse than those provided in the days of Rowland Hill?

I cannot give the hon. Gentleman that assurance, but I can tell him that if the 19 per cent. pay claim had been conceded, allied to a refusal to discuss further productivity measures, which the hon. Gentleman and his hon. Friends were supporting only a few months ago, the tariff increases and the reduction in services would have had to be very substantial indeed.

The Minister cannot evade his responsibilities by first trying to abuse the Opposition and, second, by saying that they are not his proposals. We all know that technically they are not his proposals. What is his attitude to the proposals? Is he in favour of them or against them?

It is a pity that the hon. and learned Gentleman did not read my earlier statement which said that the Government had been consulted and agreed that the Post Office should put forward these proposals for consideration by the users council. When we have the opinions of the users council on the number of different alternatives which have been put forward by the Post Office, a decision will be reached.

Again the Minister has not answered the question. Does he think that the proposals for tariff increases and reductions in services are justified? It is a simple question.

I have told the hon. and learned Gentleman that from a number of alternatives which have been put to the users council we shall decide subsequently in the light of the users council's views. Surely the hon. and learned Gentleman cannot object to the Government adopting a procedure whereby they try to discover what users want before reaching a decision.

asked the Minister of Posts and Telecommunications whether he will issue a general direction to the Post Office Corporation to investi- gate the delay in delivery of Her Majesty's mails.

asked the Minister of Posts and Telecommunications if he is satisfied with the delivery of first-class mail; and if he will make a statement.

I have no reason to believe that the Post Office is failing in the duties laid upon it in Section 9 of the Post Office Act, 1969, and I do not think a general direction is called for.

Although we are becoming inured to slower posts, is not the capriciousness of deliveries becoming quite terrifying and destroying confidence in the Post Office? Is my right hon. Friend aware that I received in London by the same post three first-class letters postmarked on three successive days in Surrey? I have the covers to show him it he wants to see them.

The Post Office is certainly not complacent about present performance. My hon. Friend will have seen that the users council, in a move which I greatly welcome, has started to conduct surveys into the Post Office's performance. These will be a very valuable addition to the means of measuring this. What is clear from that study and from the Post Office's own study is that the vast majority of first-class letters are delivered on the next working day.

The Post Office may not be complacent, but I believe that the Minister is. He says that there is a very high next-day delivery record for first-class mail. In different parts of the country there is a great shortfall. Does the right hon. Gentleman realise that in parts of West Yorkshire the mail train from London is regularly over an hour late and the mail is usually two days late?

Obviously the Post Office will consider any difficulties that the hon. Gentleman cares to raise with it. On the longer train hauls there is bound to be a less satisfactory performance than on the shorter ones.

asked the Minister of Posts and Telecommunications if he will make a further statement on the progress of his campaign to reduce the numbers of television licence evaders.

This year's campaign will last until the spring of 1972, and a final assessment cannot be made until then. However, in the first towns visited, the number of new licences taken out is reported to have been, on average, more than three times higher than it normally is.

I am obliged for that answer, but will the right hon. Gentleman give his latest estimate of the revenue currently being lost through evasion? Would it not be much better if he decided to spend an extra £2 million on this purpose rather than the £2 million he proposes to spend on the introduction of commercial radio, which very few people seem to want?

There is no comparison between those expenditures, since one is a loan and the other is an expenditure. I shall, if I may, send to the hon. Gentleman the up-to-date figure of sums lost to the B.B.C. through licence evasion. It is still the case that money spent on anti-evasion is yielding a return at least seven times greater than the expenditure.

asked the Minister of Posts and Telecommunications if he will issue a general direction to the Post Office Corporation to the effect that increases in telephone charges of a kind intended to restrict demand for telephones shall not be applied in the case of old and disabled people.

No, Sir. I do not think that this would be the best means of helping those in need.

Does my right hon. Friend appreciate that the Post Office has in mind increases in telephone charges over and above what is required as a result of higher wages in order to restrict demand? Would it not be quite wrong to restrict the demand of persons such as the old and the disabled, who really need a telephone?

I shall bear my right hon. Friend's views in mind. There are no proposals for overall tariff increases of the scale which he suggests.

The right hon. Member for Kingston-upon-Thames (Mr. Boyd Carpenter) has raised an important issue. Does the Minister realise that far from having to pay the same as ordinary persons, these people, the aged and the disabled, frequently have to pay more because they require special apparatus? Will he, please, reconsider his charges for items such as L.S.T. apparatus for the old and the disabled?

As the hon. Gentleman knows, local authorities and the Supplementary Benefits Commission have power to help in this respect. I do not consider that it would be appropriate for the Post Office to attempt to discriminate between the needs of different users.

asked the Minister of Posts and Telecommunications whether he will make a statement on Government policy in relation to censoring of broadcasts.

The policy of this Government as it has been of previous Governments is that each of the two broadcasting authorities is, as a trustee for the public interest in broadcasting, wholly and solely responsible for the programme content of its services.

While fully—

Order. I am glad to note that the hon. Gentleman rises for a supplementary question if not for the Question itself.

I am grateful to you Mr. Speaker for your help. I fully support my right hon. Friend in setting his face against a system of censorship, which would be entirely contrary to this country's traditions, but will he use his influence which, even though he be only a corporation sole, is considerable, to ensure that television and wireless coverage of events in Northern Ireland are objective and, if there is any doubt, to ensure that the benefit of it is given to the forces of the Crown, not to Her Majesty's enemies?

As my hon. Friend knows, my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary has undertaken to bring to the notice of the chairmen of the two broadcasting authorities the extent of parliamentary concern about reporting in Ulster. There should be no doubt, however, that the broadcasting organisations have an extremely difficult task in this respect. They have, on the one hand, to recognise that the presence of cameras may sometimes influence events and that they are, therefore, in a sense, participants as well as reporters, while, on the other hand, they have to try to give fair coverage.

I welcome the important statements on this matter which the Minister has just made, but will he ask the Independent Television Authority to inquire into the circumstances in which a "World in Action" programme on events in the Republic of Ireland was banned without being seen by the Authority, against, as I understand it, the views of the I.T.A. officials who saw the programme in its early stages in Manchester?

No, Sir, I will not. The I.T.A. has the responsibility. It is the trustee for the public. It is for the Authority to make judgments. I do not believe that broadcasters serve even their own best interests if they seem to challenge the Authority's exercise of that power and its right to exercise it.

asked the Minister of Posts and Telecommunications if he will discuss with the British Broadcasting Corporation and the Independent Television Authority a scheme for displaying in the corner of the television screen a series of small easily recognisable symbols, common to all television services, throughout the broadcast of any programme which might be considered undesirable for particular categories of viewers.

This must be a matter for the judgment of the B.B.C. and the I.T.A., which, I am sure, will take note of my hon. Friend's suggestion.

My right hon. Friend's answer is rather disappointing. Is he aware that this system is inexpensive, effective and administratively simple, and it has been operated by French television for a number of years? Does he realise that it would be greatly appreciated by viewers in this country, who may turn on in the middle of a programme but who might not wish to watch a pro- gramme which contained subject matter repugnant to them or frightening? [HON. MEMBERS: "Switch off."] They do not necessarily know in the middle of a programme that it contains such material. Will my right hon. Friend accept that such a system would be greatly welcomed by parents, as they would immediately be able to assess the suitability of a programme for family viewing?

There seems to be an obvious case for a system such as that suggested by my hon. Friend, and I am sure that the B.B.C. will consider it. As my hon. Friend probably knows, the Corporation has in the past concluded that a coding system of this type would, in fact, attract children to programmes which are not suitable.

Will the right hon. Gentleman make categorically clear that he will back the B.B.C. against any and every attempt to force censorship upon it, from whatever source the attempt might come?

There is no question of censorship, but there are here difficult considerations for society and for the broadcasting organisations. I believe that it is to everyone's advantage that my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary should have the discussions to which I have referred.

asked the Minister of Posts and Telecommunications if he will allocate to the Post Office additional public funds to enable the acceleration of the building programme of booster television relay 625-line stations.

The construction of television stations is the responsibility of the B.B.C. and I.T.A. and not that of the Post Office. As I told my hon. Friend on 19th April, progress depends on technical as well as financial resources.—[Vol. 815, c. 328.]

Is my right hon. Friend aware that there is growing concern in areas such as Derbyshire, where there is great need for a booster station for 625-line television for colour transmissions and B.B.C.2 and we shall not be receiving it until late 1973–74? Is it not intolerable that people who are paying the full licence fee should continue to have such appalling reception and have to accept at the same time that there seems to be no possibility of the building programme, which is not very expensive, being accelerated? Will my right hon. Friend do what he can to accelerate it?

I am sure that every effort will be made to accelerate it, and note will be taken of the strength of feeling in his constituency to which my hon. Friend refers. I am afraid that this is a very large programme which, in all, must take some time to implement.

asked the Minister of Posts and Telecommunications what is the number of radio and television licences issued by the Post Office valid for a period of less than one year for which a full yearly fee is charged.

The full licence fee is payable by law irrespective of the period for which a licence is issued. I have no figures showing how many licences are issued for less than one year.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that if a person takes out a licence on, say 23rd August, that licence is back-dated to 31st July, so that he has 11 months' value for a fee which is supposed to cover 12 months? If a commercial organisation indulged in that practice, the general manager would find himself in gaol. It is a fraudulent practice. Will the right hon. Gentleman look at the problem with a view to introducing a system similar to that applying to the driving licence, which is dated from the time when one procures it?

I do not believe that the arrangement the hon. Gentleman describes is general. But I am obviously extremely anxious to avoid the fate to which the hon. Gentleman refers, and I shall look at any specific instance he cares to send to me.

asked the Minister of Posts and Telecommunications if he will make a statement on the future of the Post Office Giro.

asked the Minister of Posts and Telecommunications what is the estimated loss on the Giro during the current year.

asked the Minister of Posts and Telecommunications if he will now make a statement about the future of the Post Office Giro.

asked the Minister of Posts and Telecommunications whether in his review of the National Giro, he will bear in mind the contribution to the reduction in the number of crimes of violence against the person that would flow from greater use of the system by firms and individuals.

I propose to make a statement on the future of the National Giro after Question Time today.

asked the Minister of Posts and Telecommunications what are the costs incurred per aerial in the administration of the system of licensing communal aerials under the terms of the Wireless Telegraphy Act, 1949.

The information is not available in the form requested by the hon. Member. But I am satisfied that the cost of administering the licence system will be no more than covered by the licence fees and charges collected.

In view of that, will the right hon. Gentleman reconsider the matter? We appreciate that the necessary supervision under the Act must be maintained, but would not he consider abolishing the fee to encourage the use of more communal aerials rather than a proliferation of independent aerials?

I have a responsibility under the Act to ensure that no piece of wireless telegraphy apparatus causes harmful interference with another. It costs money to monitor that. Therefore, I believe that it is reasonable to expect the users rather than the general taxpayers to meet the cost.

asked the Minister of Posts and Telecommunications how many acts of vandalism to public telephone kiosks occurred in the most recent annual period for which figures are available.

asked the Minister of Posts and Telecommunications what is his estimate of the number of vandal-proof telephone kiosks in existence at the latest date.

The Post Office tells me there were 152,000 incidents of vandalism in 1970–71. More than 35,000 kiosks have so far been fully or partially fitted with strengthened equipment to resist attack.

As more than half the public depend on public telephone kiosks to contact emergency services, is my right hon. Friend satisfied that the courts are treating such acts of vandalism with sufficient seriousness? Is he prepared to discuss the question with our right hon. Friends to see whether we can have tougher penalties for telephone vandals?

I will certainly consider that.

Is the Minister aware that large areas of Coatbridge and Aidrie are bereft of public telephone kiosks and that there is no hope in an emergency of contacting police, ambulance or other services? Will he do something to see that some of the vandal-proof kiosks are built in those parts of my constituency?

I will ensure that the Post Office takes note of what the hon. Gentleman has said.

asked the Minister of Posts and Telecommunications if he will introduce legislation to amend the Post Office Act. 1969, so that the exercise of the Post Office's monopoly as set out in Section 24 of that Act is transferred to the Minister.

I have no present plans for such legislation.

Does my right hon. Friend recall that in the last Parliament the Conservative Opposition opposed this example of blanket monopoly. Does he agree that it is the habit of our party when in government to honour the views it held in opposition? Will he undertake to look again at the problem, as it relates to the infrastructure, upon which a great deal of the efficiency of the country depends?

A number of features of the Act would no doubt be different if the present Administration had put it on the Statute Book. But I do not have plans for any legislation. As my hon. Friend knows, I will continue to keep the scope of the monopoly under review, and quite important changes were announced to him in an answer the other day.

asked the Minister of Posts and Telecommunications whether he will take action to ensure that when Members of Parliament and the general public write to his Department they are not kept waiting for up to eight weeks for replies on straightforward matters.

My Department makes every effort to reply to all correspondence as quickly as possible. An interim reply is sent if detailed inquiries are likely to delay a substantive reply.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that his Department, like almost every other, takes four or five weeks to send letters? I appreciate that interim acknowledgments are sent, but Departments take four or five weeks, and as many as eight weeks, very often simply to paraphrase a Member's letter, telling him what he has told the Department. Surely that does not need five to eight weeks? We are used to receiving negative replies and no help from the Department, but could the right hon. Gentleman send them a little earlier in future and not keep us waiting so long?

I note that the hon. Gentleman has put down a similar Question to almost every Department. The average time taken by my Department to reply to Members' letters is between 15 and 21 days.

Too long.

asked the Minister of Posts and Telecommunications why the frequencies for stereo radio are not to be made available to the North-East of England; and whether he will specify the factors that permit stereo radio to be received in the North-West of England but not in the North-East.

No additional frequencies are needed. The determining factor is the need to provide microwave links to carry stereophonic programmes from the studios to the main transmitting stations; and the route which can bring the service most rapidly to as many people as possible goes through Manchester and the North-West to Glasgow.

Is my right hon. Friend aware that another bit of policy is being extended to the North-West and not to the North-East? I will not stand for the North-East being put in a different position from the North-West. Will my right hon. Friend assure me that there will be similar treatment for that area? I congratulate the North-West, but I want both areas to be treated properly. My right hon. Friend is coming to the North-East on Friday and I hope that he can deal with the matter when he arrives, when we shall give him a great welcome.

I am most grateful to my hon. Friend. The B.B.C. says that it hopes to begin installing the new equipment in the North-East towards the end of 1972.

asked the Minister of Posts and Telecommunications if he will introduce legislation to allow ex-Post Office employees to have transfer of pension rights when they leave the service of the Post Office before retiring age.

No, Sir. Facilities for transferring the pension rights of Post Office employees are on a par with those in the Civil Service.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that some people who have left the Post Office recently, like some constituents of mine—I am thinking of one in particular who is now employed by a Scottish bank, prepared to accept the transfer of pension rights but frustrated because of the lack of legislation—are suffering because of the lack of the right to transfer pension rights? Does he agree that there are difficulties, and will he do something to cure them?

It is not a matter which requires legislation. I understand that it is the Post Office's intention to try to negotiate as wide an extension of transferability as possible.

asked the Minister of Posts and Telecommunications if he will give a general direction to the Post Office to take steps to improve the supply of exchange equipment from the contractors to the telephone exchanges.

No, Sir. This is the responsibility of the Post Office.

Is the Minister aware that in the recent Post Office Report and Accounts it was made perfectly clear that the average delay in the agreed contractual dates of delivery of telephone equipment had increased from eight and a half months to 13 months and that that delay is the basic cause of the long waiting lists in many cities?

The report shows that the percentage of contracts in delay has improved from 80 per cent. at 31st March, 1970, to 45 per cent. at 31st March this year, so there has been a substantial improvement in the past year. The contracts which are still very much delayed are in the main concerned with orders for Crossbar, with which there have been particular development difficulties.

I echo what the hon. Member for Newcastle-under-Lyme (Mr. Golding) has said. Will my right hon. Friend please look into the continuing delay in introducing the S.T.D. exchange at Brentwood? Its introduction date seems to be constantly delayed, much to the irritation of local residents and businessmen.

I will ensure that the Post Office takes note of my hon. Friend's complaint.

And acts.

Surely the Minister cannot be satisfied and so complacent. When he says that only 45 per cent. of contracts are now running over time, does not he think that, as the vast majority of the output of the British telecommunications industry is taken by the Post Office, the time is long overdue to establish in the development areas, such as the North-East, publicly-owned factories to produce telecommunications equipment?

A high proportion of telecommunications manufacturing is done in the development districts. I am not complacent, but I say that the fact that 80 per cent. of such contracts were in delay when the present Opposition left office and only 45 per cent. are in delay now is a measure of progress.

asked the Minister of Posts and Telecommunications what discussions he has had with interested bodies about the introduction of post and passenger bus services in rural areas; and if he will make a statement.

None, Sir; this is primarily a matter for the Post Office and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment.

Would the right hon. Gentleman accept that in view of the manic desire of both the National Bus Company and the Post Office to close their separate services in the rural areas, this system is the only way to prolong services in the rural communities? Will he accept a degree of responsibility for them?

The Post Office is always willing to consider on their merits applications for postal bus services, though Ministers responsible for the environment have made clear the sort of difficulties that arise in connection with such proposals.

asked the Lord President of the Council when, and in what form, he is publishing, with detailed evidence given to the Committee, the findings and recommendations of the Committee on Members' and Ministers' salaries and emoluments, under the chairmanship of Lord Boyle of Handsworth.

asked the Lord President of the Council whether he will make a statement on the progress of the Committee inquiring into Members' salaries and emoluments.

It is hoped to publish this report before Christmas. It will be a Command Paper.

Would my right hon. Friend concede at once that this is now a matter of the greatest urgency affecting junior Ministers as well as private hon. Members in all parts of the House? Has he deduced from the report that is already in his possession that on an auditor's survey I demonstrated to the Committee that my expenses wholly, exclusively and necessarily as an hon. Member and in my constituency have exceeded £5,000 in each of the last two years—[Interruption.] Jolly good value for money. [HON. MEMBERS: "Hear, hear."]—compared with the wholly inadequate recompense of £3,250 a year? In view of these figures, will my right hon. Friend take urgent steps to get this situation remedied?

I do not think it would be appropriate for me to comment on individual cases. All I can say is that I regard the whole situation as one of the utmost urgency, as do the Government. The report will be published at the earliest moment possible and a Government statement will be issued at the same time.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that the very last words that he uttered in answer to his hon. Friend the Member for Worcestershire, South (Sir G. Nabarro) are a matter of perturbation to some of us? Will he consider the possibility of allowing the report to be published and the Government statement to be made subsequently, after we have had a chance to read the report? In other words, will he please not follow the precedent of his right hon. Friend the Home Secretary?

I will consider that. I think there might, in certain circumstances, be considerable advantage for the report and the Government's view on it to be published at the same time. However, I will look into the matter very carefully.

Will my right hon. Friend bear in mind that the most important aspect of the report is not hon. Members' salaries but their expenses to enable them to fulfil their job as hon. Members?

These are all matters which, of course, can be discussed when the report is published and the Government's views are made known. I would only say at this stage that hon. Members in all parts of the House appreciate the importance of having the expenses to do the job properly, and I am sure that this is one of the issues which has certainly been put before the Committee.

Thank you very much, Willie.

asked the Lord President of the Council if he will move to appoint a Select Committee of the House of Commons to report upon the future relationship between the British Parliament and the European Communities.

I have noted my hon. Friend's interesting suggestion. The rôle of Select Committees in this whole field is an important matter for further consideration.

Is my right hon. Friend aware that if and when we enter the E.E.C. substantial changes will have to be made in the procedures of this House if it is to be able to influence the regulations and practices made by the Commission in Brussels?

It is certainly true that the whole question of the relationship with the Community should be considered carefully; and Select Committees might well have an important part to play in this matter.

Is there not a particular problem which needs to be studied, namely, what arrangements will have to be made to enable hon. Members to discharge their duties both to this House and to the European Parliament?

That is a slightly separate matter, although it must, of course, also be studied.

As an interim arrangement, will my right hon. Friend make sure that every facility is available for hon. Members to have an up-to-date text of all the regulations and directives that have so far emanated from Brussels?

That arises on a subsequent Question.

asked the Lord President of the Council whether he will give an assurance that there are now available for supply to every Member of both Houses of Parliament copies of all the rules, regulations, orders, recommendations and edicts issued by the European Economic Community which will become operative on Great Britain's entry into the European Economic Community; whether each of these is printed in English; and what is the total number of such instruments held for the use of Members.

Agreed English texts of Community instruments binding on the United Kingdom following our entry into the E.E.C. will be made available to the House before the introduction of the relevant legislation. The number of such instruments is about 1,500. Copies will be made available to hon. Members in accordance with the standard procedure for non-parliamentary papers.

That answer is by no means satisfactory because we want a chance to study these—

Order. The hon. Gentleman must ask a question.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that while he may have time to study these 1,000-odd orders, hon. Members do not have that amount of time? Is he aware that these documents should be available? Will he see to it that they are made available in the Library of the House? They are in every language but English. Does the right hon. Gentleman appreciate that we are unable to remove from the Library such documents as are there? Will he ensure that the necessary papers are available to hon. Members before we become too involved in this escapade?

I would not wish to enter a competition with the hon. Gentleman about who has the most time to study orders or anything else. I note the importance of this subject. I have said that the texts will be available and I believe that there will be plenty of time for hon. Members to give them the proper study.

Could my right hon. Friend give an indication of the breakdown of these 1,500 regulations and the like? Is he aware that from a look that some of us have had at the commercial and agricultural regulations respectively, which are in two separate indices, the figure of 1,500 would seem unhappily to be an underestimate?

I am afraid that I cannot give my right hon. and learned Friend the breakdown for which he asks. I have done my best to answer the questions that have been put to me.

In view of the great importance of the case law precedents which have been promulgated by the judicial court of the Common Market and their impact on, among other things, company law, may I ask the right hon. Gentleman to do as requested and make available, and quickly, copies of these documents for every hon. Member? Does he appreciate the futility of supplying only one copy to the Library? How can hon. Members assiduously study the detail if only one copy of each document is available?

I have said that I am anxious to help the House in this matter. Translations will be produced to the House as soon as they are available on all these matters. I am anxious to do my best to ensure that the service provided to hon. Members is as good as it can be in all the circumstances.

In view of the unsatisfactory nature of the Minister's answers, I beg to give notice that I shall try to raise this matter in some way, perhaps with your assistance, Mr. Speaker, on the Adjournment.

asked the Lord President of the Council if he will make arrangements to ensure that the Lord Advocate answers Questions at an earlier stage on the rota than at present.

I am always willing to consider changes to the Question roster, through the usual channels, if there appears to be a general wish.

is the right hon. Gentleman aware that the Lord Advocate has become known as Scotland's mystery man? Is he further aware that despite that Minister's expertise, although hon. Members may have Questions down to him they are never reached and never answered. [An HON. MEMBER: "Who is the Lord Advocate?"] Will the right hon. Gentleman consider returning to the former practice of the Lord Advocate taking his place on the Question roster?

I am surprised that the hon. Gentleman makes that suggestion about my right hon. and learned Friend the Lord Advocate. In fact, rather departing from some previous practices, he is a Member of this House, whereas at times in the past Lord Advocates have not been Members. Nevertheless, I will look into the possibility of doing something about the Question roster.

While not underrating the enthralling nature of the answers that my right hon. and learned Friend the Lord Advocate might give, may I ask my right hon. Friend whether he is aware that many of us would prefer a rearrangement to enable my hon. Friend who answers for the Civil Service Department to be allowed to give an oral answer once or twice a year instead of being prevented from doing so by the amount of time taken in answering Scottish Questions?

While that question from my right hon. Friend does not strictly arise on this Question, I certainly take note of what he has said.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if, in the interests of road safety, he will make the fitting of mud flaps behind the rear wheels of all motor vehicles compulsory.

I would refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to my hon. and gallant Friend the Member for Winchester (Rear-Admiral Morgan-Giles) on Wednesday, 10th November.—[Vol. 825, c. 153.]

I do not precisely recall that answer, but does not my right hon. Friend consider that this is one of the cheapest and easiest steps he could take in aid of road safety? Is he aware of the great strain engendered through windscreens getting completely obscured by mud thrown up from motorways? Does he not think that the suggestion in the Question is sensible and a step which should be taken immediately?

In order to help my hon. Friend, I should like to tell him that my answer on the previous occasion was "No, Sir", because even though this might be a cheap and easy step to take, I doubt whether it would be as effective as my hon. Friend appears to think.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what policy he follows in considering planning appeals relating to permission for mineral workings in predominantly residential areas.

I consider each case on its merits, in the light of the inspector's report.

Is my right hon. Friend aware that many people are suffering unhappiness and inconvenience and are incurring expense because of quarrying and the working of minerals in close proximity to private dwellings? What action does he advise these people to take?

I am well aware of that and of the problems in my hon. Friend's constituency. As a result of a meeting in my Department, a working party has been set up between the various local authorities to ensure that the conditions in planning consents are imposed from proper environmental considerations.

Is the Secretary of State aware that the problem caused by allowing quarrying and workings near private and council house developments is largely that of lorries depositing muck and slurry on the roads? The Minister should consider stopping it getting on the roads in the first place.

There is a diversity of problems, such as noise and disturbance. Planning authorities are getting much better at imposing very strict controls and conditions when giving planning consents.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he is aware that many sections of the building industry are of the opinion that the application of metrication to bricks will have disadvantages; and what steps he proposes to take to meet these objections.

I am not aware that the interim British Standard metric brick currently in general use has greater disadvantages than its imperial counterpart. Field trials in conjunction with the brick industry are to begin in 1972 to determine if a dimensionally co-ordinated size of brick would have advantages.

Does my hon. Friend agree that not all sections of the building industry are happy about the desire to go metric? Is there not a great deal of confusion simply because we cannot get the promised White Paper from the Department of Trade and Industry? Will my hon. Friend use his influence with that Department to get the White Paper published so that we might have less tripe in kilograms from Mr. Bowen, Director of the Metrication Board?

I shall pass my hon. Friend's comments to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State.

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that the timber trade is very advanced in the transfer to metrication and that this will have to be taken into consideration when he is discussing the question of metrication in the brick industry and the associated building trades?

I note what the hon. Gentleman says.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will maintain the speed limit on A46 within Cheltenham until the local authority agrees that it be altered.

No, Sir.

If local administration is to amount to anything, is not this the sort of decision which should be taken locally and not by central authorities?

A great deal of importance is attached to local opinion on the question of speed limits. But it is, I think, desirable that speed limits should be realistic, and in the experience of my Department they are better observed where there is some movement to make them a little more realistic.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment when he expects to announce the amount of grant to the Northumbrian River Authority for the construction of the Kidder reservoir and the Tyne-Tees aqueduct.

I will make an announcement as soon as possible after receipt of the relevant technical and financial information from the authority.

In view of the extreme importance of this scheme for the whole region, and especially for industrial development, will the right hon.. Gentleman give an undertaking that the grant will be substantial and that he will consider sympathetically the application coming before him?

I recognise the importance of this decisison, but I think the hon. Gentleman will realise that I cannot commit myself until I have the information for which I asked last April. I shall make a decision as soon as I receive that information.

Will the right hon. Gentleman make sure that he is willing to receive representations on this matter in view of its very great importance to all of us in the North-East?

After the information has been received, I shall be pleased to receive the hon. Gentleman's representations if he wishes to make them.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what annual income has accrued to his Department by the sale at historic monuments of souvenirs designed for his Department.

In 1970–71 the net income from the sale of souvenirs by this Department was just under £21,000. I expect it to increase this year.

May I take it from that answer that the Government's doctrinaire attitude to public enterprise does not apply in this case and that this form of public enterprise will be encouraged?

Yes, Sir. We have no intention of hiving off the souvenir industry.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he will make a statement about the progress of his consultations about the proposal to ban waiting near urban street junctions.

I consulted over 70 organisations and am studying their replies. I have been gratified by the welcome given to the aim of the proposal though naturally there have been many comments about its application.

Safety is obviously very important, but is my right hon. Friend aware that if his proposals are applied without flexibility in resort towns they may do considerable damage to the economies of those towns? Will he bear that in mind?

I note my hon. Friend's very sensible observation. I shall think about it before I reach a final decision.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will reconsider the present traffic volume requirements needed before road safety crossings are provided at dangerous road junctions.

I am reconsidering the criteria for traffic signals at junctions.

I welcome that reply because I am aware that the right hon. Gentleman is aware that this is a real problem with young children and especially elderly people. Unfortunately, because of the lack of safety crossings at many road junctions, there is a total disregard by many motorists of people's difficulties in crossing the road. I hope that we shall hear in the very near future the right hon. Gentleman's proposals for improving the situation.

I am sure that the hon. Gentleman would not wish to give the impression that there is a wholesale disregard of these crossings, which play a very useful part in road safety, as I am sure he would acknowledge.

indicated assent.

If the hon. Gentleman has any particular difficulty in mind, I will look into it if he wishes me to do so.

Can the right hon. Gentleman throw any light on why the road safety manual for pedestrians has been in preparation in his Department for over three years? Can he tell us when it will be published?

If the hon. Gentleman puts down a Question on that point, I will answer it.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment why only one-quarter of the money granted for housing improvement in the year ended 31st August, 1971, £7·9 million out of £28·3 million, went on standard grants for installing bathrooms, inside lavatories and hot water systems.

More of the house owners concerned no doubt chose to improve their properties to a higher standard with the aid of the more generous discretionary grants.

I very much welcome the improvement work, but is it not a fact that this money is largely being spent on luxury improvements which the Municipal Engineering Journal describes as weekend country cottage bonanzas instead of on the vital and important job of putting bathrooms in the houses of 11 million men, women and children who need them?

The hon. Gentleman is wrong in two respects. First, the discretionary grants frequently include the standard amenities, such as the installation of bathrooms, toilets and facilities of that type. Therefore, both types of grant deal with the basic amenities. So the hon. Gentleman is wrong in that respect. Secondly, there is no doubt from the pattern of improvement grants that the great mass of them are being made in the urban areas, and particularly the areas with the worst housing.

Reverting to the point made by my hon. Friend the Member for Salford, East (Mr. Frank Allaun) about the areas where the money is being spent, can the right hon. Gentleman indicate the percentage of grant aid which is going to rented properties and say whether it is increasing or remaining static?

I cannot give the specific figures, but I have already said what will happen as a result of the extra grants for which we are providing. In the development areas, 103,000 public rented houses will be improved.

asked the Secretary of State for the Environment what stocks of traffic signal equipment are kept by him or his agents; and what is the range of period between his ordering of traffic signal equipment, its delivery and installation.

Neither my Department nor its agents hold stocks. Until recently the delivery periods varied from 26 weeks for standard installations to about double this time for special equipment. Installation time generally adds about two weeks. Following discussions with the manufacturers, delivery times for standard installations have been reduced to 16 weeks and subject to some changes in ordering procedure which are now being discussed with the local authority associations, this can be reduced to 11–12 weeks.

Does not the Minister think, in view of this technological age, that it is very desirable that stocks of these traffic signals should be kept and their delivery timed even more quickly than it has been recently?

We are already discussing this with the local authority associations and the manufacturers, and I think the hon. Member will accept that, as we have achieved a reduction from 26 to 16 weeks during the last 12 months, this is a major step forward.

On a point of order, Mr. Speaker. I have Question No. 16 on the Paper today. I was told at 2.35 this afternoon that it would be coupled with Question No. 1. By that time it had been passed by.

Where was the hon. Member?

I was taking a constituent to the Gallery. I wonder, Mr. Speaker, whether it is possible to ask Question No. 16 now?

Certainly not. It is not a matter for the Chair. The hon. Member may make representations about this to the Minister, but it is not a matter for me.