asked the Under-Secretary of State for War whether the present administration of labour units in France by means of a directorate group of headquarters is unnecessary, costly, and entails overlapping with other branches of the Army; whether he will consider the desirability of controlling labour units by attaching them to divisions or Army corps; and whether the maintenance of the roads in France is five times as much as that of roads in this country?

I am not quite clear to what my hon. and gallant Friend refers as the "directorate group of headquarters." The Labour Corps in France is administered by a Director of Labour, with the assistance of the necessary staff. The conditions at the front and in this country have so little in common that no useful comparison of cost can be made.

asked how many Staff appointments to the directorate of the Labour Corps in France have been given to officers without any technical knowledge of road engineering, and who have not had any previous war service at the front?

I am afraid that this information is not available.