asked the Minister of Labour what is the reason for the small percentage of Returns furnished by employers in certain industries and published in the Ministry of Labour Gazette?

I assume that the hon. Member refers to the monthly returns which are voluntarily supplied by employers in certain industries, giving particulars as to the numbers of workpeople in their employment and as to the number of days worked or amount of wages paid. Comprehensive statistics of unemployment in these and other industries are already published in the "Ministry of Labour Gazette," and the object of the returns referred to is to supplement these statistics by particulars indicating the changes in the state of employment at a number of representative works from which comparable information can regularly be obtained. It is not necessary for this purpose that returns should be obtained from all employers, and application is accordingly made by the Department only to a selection of employers who have been supplying returns over a long period.

Is it not a fact that if a larger number of employers provided the Minister with these returns, a far more accurate picture could be obtained of the general industrial position?

We think that, on the whole, we have a representative survey. There are one or two cases which require looking into, but I cannot ask the statistics department of my own Ministry, or indeed business organisations, to undertake this work on the scale suggested.

asked the Minister of Labour the average increase paid to applicants by the Unemployment Assistance Board since the circular was issued giving the board's officers discretion to take into consideration the increased cost of living; and the average increase allowed in the Stoke area of the Hanley administrative district?

On 17th January last the average addition to current assessments on account of the special circumstances dealt with in the board's circular, in cases in which such additions were made, was about 2s. both in the country generally and in the board's administrative area of Stoke.

Can the Minister assure us that this 2s. is not the maximum?

Is is an average over the whole country.

The average for each applicant?

The average per applicant.

asked the Minister of Labour whether he is aware that men with four children who received the 5s. a week bonus for babies recently given to workers at Pilkington's glass manufactory, St. Helens, Lancashire, and who are working part time at that factory, have had the whole of their 12s. children allowance deducted from their unemployment pay; under what authority this deduction was made; and what action he proposes to take about the matter?

I have made inquiry and find that in two such cases payment of the benefit allowance for children was suspended for a few days pending consideration of its legality. Payment has now been made.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that this is not the first or second case of this kind; does he not remember the case which I brought to his notice about a fortnight ago, and why is it that the responsible officials in cases of this character do not make themselves acquainted with the legal position?

I think there were only two or three cases.

Are we to understand that in all such cases instructions are now issued to Employment Exchange officials asking them to make no reductions in cases where employers make grants of this kind?

That was done.

asked the Minister of Labour the number of unemployed persons in the Aberdare area who, owing to the operation of the means test, are not entitled to any allowance but who are receiving a grant such as dignity money under paragraph 39 of the Unemployment Assistance Board's Explanatory Memorandum, 1936?

I regret that this information is not available. I would remind the hon. Member that the Board cannot grant allowances to persons who are not entitled to them, and that in granting allowances in the circumstances indicated in paragraph 39 of the White Paper they do so by a proper exercise of their discretion under the Regulations.

Cannot the Minister get this information, and has he made any representations to the Board about giving a more generous interpretation to this paragraph of the regulations, especially in view of the statement which he made when introducing the regulations?

I understand that the Board could get this information only by a special investigation. I will call their attention to the point.

asked the Minister of Labour whether the whole of the rebate of rent for children allowed by local authorities is taken into account when assessing for transitional unemployment benefit?

Unemployment allowances are normally adjusted for rent, by reference to the actual rent paid, in the light of recommendations of local advisory committees. Under these recommendations there is frequently a margin within which rent rebates may be granted without affecting the amount of the allowance payable. The rebate schemes, however, vary greatly in character and where necessary the Board's officers discuss their detailed application in any area with the local authority concerned. If the hon. Member has any special case in mind, perhaps he will let me have further particulars.

asked the Minister of Labour whether he is aware that in December, 1937, there were 22,853 able-bodied unemployed persons receiving Poor Law relief in England and Wales; and whether he will take steps to transfer these persons to the Unemployment Assistance Board?

I am not prepared to introduce the legislation which would be necessary for this purpose.

Does the Minister consider it fair that so many unemployed people should come under the Poor Law, and was not the House given to understand that they would be taken over by the Unemployment Assistance Board?

This is merely keeping within the law.

asked the Minister of Labour whether, in view of the reduction in the estimate of expenditure for the Unemployment Assistance Board, he will take steps to abolish the means test?

No, Sir.

Seeing that the expenditure of the Unemployment Assistance Board has been reduced so much, does the Minister not consider that the time has come when this abominable system should be abolished?

I do not agree. It seems to work very well.

asked the Minister of Labour whether, in view of the hardship and delay caused to unemployed persons in the Hornchurch district of Essex by the fact that they are obliged to report at the Romford Employment Exchange, he will take steps to establish an Employment Exchange for the rapidly increasing population in Hornchurch?

I have this matter under consideration.

asked the Minister of Labour whether his attention has been drawn to the position of women who are within a few weeks of childbirth and who, being unemployed, are under the necessity of attending at the Employment Exchange to draw standard benefit or unemployment allowances; whether he is aware that, although such women are usually held to be capable of work, their chances of obtaining employment are very small; and whether he will consider, in collaboration with the Minister of Health and the Secretary of State for Scotland, the advisability of so amending the law that women within a month of childbirth shall be maintained from National Health Insurance funds?

I have received representations from time to time upon this subject but the proposal which the hon. Member makes is a matter for my right hon. Friends the Minister of Health and the Secretary of State for Scotland rather than for me.

Is not the question directed to whether the right hon. Gentleman should consult with the Minister of Health and the Secretary of State for Scotland?

The hon. Gentleman will understand that the responsibility for any new proposals would be theirs, and that representations must be made, first of all, to them.

Is not the point at issue the necessity for these women attending the Employment Exchanges?

The issue really is whether these women can be maintained from National Health Insurance funds.

In view of the importance of this matter to large numbers of pregnant women in the industrial areas, will the right hon. Gentleman not consult with the Minister of Health and the Secretary of State for Scotland as to the best way of dealing with it?

Perhaps the hon. Gentleman who put down the question will, first of all, approach my right hon. Friends, and if so I shall be quite willing to enter into any discussions that there may be on the matter.

May we take it that we shall have the right hon. Gentleman's sympathy and assistance in any representations which we make to the Minister of Health and the Secretary of State?

I must first know what they are.

asked the Minister of Labour what steps are being taken to relieve unemployment in South-west Lancashire and in other Lancashire districts where unemployment is heavy?

I would refer the hon. Member to Sections 5 and 6 of the Special Areas (Amendment) Act, 1937, and to the answers given to the hon. Members for Westhoughton (Mr. Rhys Davies) and Llanelly (Mr. J. Griffiths) on 10th and 17th February respectively. I would also remind the hon. Member that Lancashire is sharing to a very considerable extent in the employment afforded by the Defence programme, and that three Government factories, together with four agency factories, have been or are being erected in the county. This is in addition to the large number of contracts which have been placed direct with Lancashire firms.

asked the Minister of Labour whether his attention has been drawn to the case of Mr. John Gowley, an ex-service man, of 29, Long Row, Shiney Row, county Durham, who, having been unemployed for 5½ years, obtained work at a colliery on 30th January, worked a full week, and was then dismissed without notice, not because his work was unsatisfactory, but because he had been wounded in the right hand for which he was in receipt of a pension; and whether the manager of the local Employment Exchange has made, or will make, further inquiries into this case, with a view to getting this ex-service man work suitable for his condition?

Inquiries are being made, and I will communicate with the hon. Member as soon as possible.

Will the right hon. Gentleman consider introducing a scheme with the object of providing work for ex-service men suffering from slight disabilities, as employers of labour will not have these men unless they are 100 per cent. fit?

We do give attention to these cases, and I am having this case specially looked into.

asked the Minister of Labour the number of unemployed persons transferred from the Employment Exchanges at Crumlin, Abertillery, and Blaina, and the number of unemployed persons who have secured employment outside the area covered by these Exchanges, for each year 1926 to 1937?

I am having the available figures extracted and will circulate a statement in the OFFICIAL REPORT as soon as possible.

asked the Minister of Labour whether he has yet received the report of the Unemployment Insurance Statutory Committee upon the financial condition of the Unemployment Fund; when the report will be published; and whether he can make a statement upon the action which he proposes to take upon any recommendations in the report?

Yes, Sir. The Committee's reports on the General and Agricultural Accounts of the Unemployment Fund have been laid and copies will be available to members at seven o'clock to-day. As regards the General Account, the Committee recommend by a majority that there should be an increase from 9s. to 10s. in the weekly rate of benefit in respect of wives and other adult dependants, and an increase in the maximum period of benefit to which contributors with good insurance records are entitled. The cost is estimated at £1,500,000 per annum, and is to be covered in part through repayment of £20,000,000 of debt out of reserves. As regards the Agricultural Account, the Committee recommend that the waiting period should be reduced from six to three days, that the joint weekly rate of contributions in respect of contributors aged 18 and upwards should be reduced by ½d. for each party, that the weekly rate of benefit for young men between the ages of 18 and 21 should be increased from 10s. 6d. to 12s., and that the condition requiring payment of ten contributions as a requalification for benefit should be abolished except where the applicant has drawn the maximum period of 300 days of benefit in the year. The cost is estimated at £222,500 per annum. I propose, subject to Parliamentary approval, to give effect to these recommendations.

While appreciating the advance, may I ask the right hon. Gentleman what is the total amount of the balance now in the fund at his disposal and what is the amount that it has been decided to pay off the debt? Will not the balance allow of a larger rise?

Perhaps the hon. Gentleman will await the report. The amount to be applied to repayment of debt is £20,000,000. The remainder of the balance is a prudent reserve against any bad times that may come. There is also a surplus of about £7,500,000 which will help to finance these and other improvements over a cycle of eight years.

Are we to take it that it has actually been decided to take £20,000,000 in repayment of debt?

That is so.

Would not that make it possible to give higher advances?

No; £20,000,000 means £500,000 a year.

asked the Minister of Labour whether he is now in a position to state whether he can do anything to assist the workers in the manufacturing section of the cotton industry in Lancashire who are suffering from underemployment as distinct from unemployment?

As I told the hon. Member last week, I should like to know what is in his mind. Perhaps he will have a talk with me.

Has the right hon. Gentleman considered the representations made to him on this subject two years ago? He knows quite well what is in my mind in asking this question.

The hon. Member knows as well as I do that this question may mean half a dozen different things. I should very much like to have a serious talk with him about it.

asked the Minister of Labour the number of persons defined as seasonal workers who failed to qualify for unemployment benefit in Glasgow for the years 1936 and 1937, respectively?

I am having the available figures extracted, and will circulate a statement in the OFFICIAL REPORT as soon as possible.

Will the right hon. Gentleman consider the point of view that these seasonal workers, by undertaking employment, show a desire for permanent employment, and will he consider a revision of the regulations with a view to modifying them?

We have already reviewed them and modified them since I have been Minister of Labour, and I know of no reason for going further at the moment.

Will the right hon. Gentleman consider the point that many of these people, by undertaking seasonal employment, show their desire for work?

Since the Anomalies Act was passed in 1931 there are a large number of seasonal workers who have never even been back to the exchange to register

asked the Minister of Labour whether, as a result of his recent tour of various unemployed centres, he has formulated new schemes to deal with unemployment; and has he any statement to make?

I have at present nothing to add to the answer which I gave on 17th February to a similar question put by the hon. Member for Llanelly (Mr. J. Griffiths).

Can the right hon. Gentleman suggest when we can place a question on the Paper and receive an adequate answer?

That is a matter for discussion on the Estimates, and that remains with the hon. Gentleman's Leader.

asked the Home Secretary whether, in connection with the proposals for penal reform, he will consider the amendment of the existing law as it applies to motor car drivers and other drivers convicted of manslaughter whereby sentence of imprisonment may be imposed on such offenders, with a view to substituting for such sentence the penalty of a heavy fine and permanent loss of driving licence, bearing in mind that the offenders, though admittedly a danger to the public, are not criminally-minded and should not be classed as, and with, criminals?

Any amendment of the law on the lines suggested would be more appropriate in a Bill amending the Road Traffic Acts, but it must not be taken that I assent to the premises contained in my hon. Friend's question.

asked the Minister of Transport whether he is now in a position to make a statement with reference to the construction of a bridge over the Severn River?

I regret that I am not yet in a position to make a statement on this matter. Perhaps the hon. Member will allow me to communicate with him when I am able to do so.

Can the Minister say when he will be in a position to make a statement on this matter, which is of such great importance to South Wales?

I am aware of the importance of the matter, and I am doing what I can to expedite a decision.

asked the Minister of Transport whether anything has yet been done to implement the recommendation of the Royal Commission on Transport of 1931, that he should take steps to set up public trusts which would acquire such canals as he considers it would be in the national interest to preserve and improve?

No, Sir. I have no powers under which I could take the action proposed. My hon. and gallant Friend will be aware that since 1930 considerable improvements have been made in certain of the more important waterways.

asked the Minister of Transport what steps are now being taken for the repair of the Birmingham-Wolverhampton new road; how many local authorities are involved in the placing of contracts; and whether he will endeavour to arrange for the more effective method of one contract being placed for the whole road?

The county councils of Stafford and Worcester, as my agents, are maintaining these lengths of trunk road. They are employing direct labour so that the question of contracts does not arise. The sections within the three county boroughs are not trunk roads, and I have no power to make grants for their maintenance, which is covered by the block grants to those authorities.

In view of the importance of encouraging transport, and, indeed, the flow of ideas, between Wolverhampton and Birmingham, will the right horn. Gentleman give this matter the most rapid attention he can?

asked the Home Secretary particulars of the number of Metropolitan officers who have been actively engaged during the previous weeks on inquiries into the murder of Captain Butt; and upon which authority will fall the cost for the use of the police officers so engaged?

Chief Constables of the county and borough police forces are entitled to enlist the aid of Scotland Yard detectives in the investigation of serious alleged crimes. One chief inspector of the Criminal Investigation Department and one sergeant of the Metropolitan Police Force have been engaged in assisting the Gloucestershire Constabulary in the case referred to, and the cost of their services will be borne by the Metropolitan Police Fund.

Can the right hon. Gentleman say whether it is a fact that those two officers were also engaged in dragging operations?

No, Sir, not without notice.

asked the Home Secretary the number of men who have been trained in the Metropolitan police schools and colleges during the five years ended 31st March, 1937; and how many of these are now serving in the Metropolitan Police Force?

During the five years ended on 31st March, 1937, 3,628 candidates were trained in the Metropolitan Police Training School, of whom 2,883 are now serving in the Metropolitan Police Force. Up to the same date, 122 men had completed their training in the Metropolitan Police College, which opened in May, 1934. One hundred and twelve of these men are now serving in the Metropolitan Police Force.

Would the Home Secretary explain why so many of the people who are trained in this college are not serving in the Metropolitan Police, and whether they have left in dissatisfaction?

The hon. Member had better put that question down, when I will give him the information.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Education whether the Board will authorise expenditure by local education authorities for the purchase of children's footwear in needy cases; and, if so, whether the expenditure will rank for grant?

Under the existing law, the Board have no power to authorise expenditure by local education authorities on the purchase of footwear for necessitous schoolchildren, or to pay grant in respect of such expenditure.

Does the Board pay grant for gymnasium shoes for physical exercises and training?

I think so.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Education whether he is aware that 200 English and Welsh teachers will visit Paris at Easter as the guests of the French Government; and what arrangements have been made for this visit?

Yes, Sir. The Board, in co-operation with the British Institute in Paris, have arranged a course for teachers of French in secondary schools in England and Wales. The proposal to hold the course has produced a gratifying expression of interest from the authorities of the University of Paris, who, acting in agreement with the French Ministry of National Education, have undertaken to meet the whole of the expenses of the organisation of the course and of the provision of the necessary lecturers. In addition the University of Paris have placed the amenities of the Sorbonne at the disposal of the members of the course. My Noble Friend would like to take this opportunity of expressing his great appreciation of the generous help and co-operation of the French Government, which he has already conveyed to the French authorities.

Will the Board consider giving a similar invitation to French teachers to visit England, in order to encourage these desirable exchanges?

I hope that that will take place next year.

Does not the Board think that the Italian language will be more necessary to the school children in the future?

asked the Minister of Health the number of houses necessary to re-house people under overcrowding proposals in the Weardale Rural District, Barnard Castle Urban District, and Barnard Castle Rural District, respectively; and how many such houses have been completed in each district?

The number of houses found to be overcrowded in the three districts to which the hon. Member refers was 136, 28, and 147. I am as yet unable to give precise information as to the number of new houses which will be required to abate this overcrowding. No houses for this purpose have yet been completed.

Is the Minister satisfied with the progress that has been made in these districts?

I would like to see more progress made.

asked the Minister of Health the number of houses scheduled for slum clearance in the Weardale Rural District, Barnard Castle Urban District, and Barnard Castle Rural District, respectively; and the number of new houses completed under slum clearance schemes in each district?

The slum clearance programme of the local authorities for the three districts mentioned comprise 75, 140, and 128 houses, respectively. The numbers of replacement houses completed are 14, 50, and 4.

asked the Minister of Health whether he has considered the resolutions from the Stoke-on-Trent City Council and the Bridlington Borough Council urging him to revise his proposals so as to provide that such new Exchequer contributions shall be payable in respect of all houses erected for overcrowding, including those in construction at the present time, completed after 31st March, instead of 31st December, 1938; and what action is it proposed to take on this matter?

An amendment dealing with this point is on the Order Paper in relation to the Committee stage of the Housing (Financial Provisions) Bill.

asked the Minister of Health whether, taking the number of houses built since 1918 and the number demolished since that date, he can state the approximate net increase?

I regret that I have no complete information in regard to the number of houses demolished since 1918, as the figures of demolitions furnished to my Department relate only to slum clearance operations. At 30th September, 1937, 151,844 houses had been demolished in connection with those operations. The Ridley Committee on the Rent Restrictions Acts estimated that the total number of houses demolished in England and Wales since 1914 for all purposes other than slum clearance is about 60,000. On the basis of these figures the net increase in the number of houses between 1918 and 30th September, 1937, in England and Wales was in round figures 3,300,000.

May I remind the right hon. Gentleman that we were to have a great war on the slums, and will he say whether this is it?

The figures I have given show that great progress has been made. I do not know what the hon. Gentleman thinks about it.

Do not the Census returns show that between 1921 and 1931 some 200,000 houses were demolished?

That was before the war on the slums.

asked the Minister of Health whether he will consider the advisability, before approving a resolution to prepare a scheme under the Town Planning Act, of satisfying himself that the planning authority is possessed of an adequate and qualified staff or adviser for the purpose of preparing the scheme, and that competent architectural advice will be made use of by the interim development authority in the consideration of proposals submitted during the interim period?

Parliament has entrusted local authorities with the responsibility of preparing planning schemes, and I have no jurisdiction to prescribe the number or qualifications of their staff in this connection. I may, however, say that having regard to the active part now taken by county councils in the preparation of schemes, and to the extension of the joint committee system, the general standard of administration under the Act of 1932 is steadily improving. As regards interim development applications, the hon. Member is aware that the voluntary panels of architects are now widely called into consultation by authorities, and I am ready to bring this system further to the notice of the authority in any area where I have reason to think that it is desirable to do so.

Can the right hon. Gentleman say in how many cases a competent architectural adviser has been available in connection with the scheme?

I will inquire and will let the hon. Gentleman know.