asked the Minister of Labour whether consideration is being given to the need to change the administration of the means test or abolish the test?

I have nothing to add to the replies given to similar Questions by the hon. Member on 16th November and 25th January.

Does that mean that the Government will give consideration to this matter?

asked the Minister of Labour whether he will make a statement regarding unemployment in the shipbuilding and ship-repairing industry in the Greenock area and in the country generally?

I am in consultation with the organisations of employers and workpeople in the shipbuilding and ship repairing industry on the general problem of labour supply. The absorption of suitable unemployed workers registered in shipbuilding and ship repairing occupations is one of the questions under discussion, and both employers' and work-peoples' representatives have undertaken to co-operate with my Department in a special examination of the industrial capacity of such men.

Is the right hon. Gentleman having a review made of the men unemployed in this industry, particularly in Greenock, and for the purpose of finding out how many have been unemployed for a long time, and who really do not belong to this industry; and is he taking special measures in such cases to train the men for employment?

In the consultations to which I have referred, a specific examination is being made of these matters, not merely in Greenock but in every place concerned.

When does the Minister expect to be able to make a statement as to the number of unemployed shipyard workers who have been absorbed in the shipuilding industry?

I have made a number of statistics available. There is very rapid absorption of unemployed shipbuilding workers.

Is not the Minister aware that the last available figures showed that more than 16,000 shipyard workers were unemployed? Is not that unsatisfactory?

The last available figures, those of 12th March, showed 12,500 unemployed.

Those are later figures.

asked the Minister of Labour whether, in considering claims for unemployment assistance from insured persons, information is obtained as to whether benefit has been stopped on the ground of unreasonable refusal to accept an offer of employment; where this is so, does the fact debar the applicant from unemployment assistance or influence the amount granted; and is any record kept of the number of such cases?

I am informed that it is the practice of the Board's officers, in cases where an application for assistance is received from a person whose unemployment benefit has been stopped, to ascertain from the local office of the Ministry of Labour and National Service the reason for the stoppage. Where the bene- fit has been stopped on the ground of unreasonable refusal of an offer of suitable employment, assistance is not necessarily refused, but the amount of any allowance granted may be adjusted in the light of all the circumstances of the individual case. The Board's policy in this matter is explained on page 29–30 of their Annual Report for 1937. With regard to the last part of the Question, no record is kept of the number of such cases.

Am I right in thinking that where it is a question of statutory benefit, the benefit is always stopped in case of unreasonable refusal, and does the reply indicate that people who apply for unemployment assistance are in a more favourable position than people who apply for benefit?

Not at all. There is statutory machinery for those on benefit, and that machinery operates in every case, with a right of appeal. Where assistance is given, the amount may be adjusted in the light of all the circumstances of the individual case.

asked the Minister of Labour what steps he is taking to ascertain the whereabouts of the 47,555 farm workers registered as unemployed; and whether he will instruct the Employment Exchanges to keep branches of the National Farmers' Union informed so as to provide the much-needed labour on the land?

The total of farm workers registered as unemployed to which the hon. Member refers related to 12th February and included many persons temporarily unemployed owing to weather conditions. The total on 11th March was 20,217. Any farmer requiring workers should notify the nearest local office of my Department when the normal procedure will enable him to be put in touch with any worker on the register who may be suitable. My Department works in close co-operation with the county war agricultural executive committees and through my right hon. Friend the Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, I am in constant touch with the National Farmers' Union, but I should be happy to arrange any additional form of co-operation that might be helpful.

Does my right hon. Friend appreciate the point that there are in the towns many young fellows of 18 years of age and upwards who, before being called up, would be glad to work on the land? Do the Employment Exchanges give those young fellows the information needed to put them in touch with the farmers?

The Question on the Paper refers specifically to registered farm workers.

What proportion of the 20,217 referred to are skilled men?

I cannot answer that question without notice. The House will see that, compared with the 750,000 insured persons, the figure of 20,217 represents an infinitesimal fraction.

Are those farm workers registered as unemployed spread evenly over the country, or is there any area in which the number is particularly large?

The latest figures seem to show that there is a large proportion in parts of Wales and elsewhere.

May I ask whether, in the light of the statement made yesterday by the Minister of Agriculture, the right hon. Gentleman is prepared to take every step forthwith to see that skilled agricultural workers return to the land, whether they are on military service or not?

That is not my responsibility.

asked the Minister of Labour what is the number of wholly unemployed registered at Castleford, Normanton and Pontefract on the latest date available; and how these figures compare with the end of August, 1939?

I am having the available figures extracted and will forward them to the hon. Member as soon as possible.

In areas where unemployment has not been reduced a great deal since the beginning of the war, have any special inquiries been made with a view to seeing that some of these men are absorbed into industry?

Certainly.

asked the Minister of Labour how many conscripts have been, on medical examination, found to suffer from mental defects; and whether this number is higher or lower than that in the general population as estimated by the Wood Committee of 1927?

Information relating to the number of recruits found on medical examination to be suffering from mental defects is not available?

asked the Minister of Labour (1) whether he is aware of the widespread concern and dissatisfaction throughout the country that no statistics or check are kept by his Department to show whether conscientious objectors who have been ordered to obtain work of national importance in fact do so or not; and whether he will have returns kept;

(2) whether he is satisfied that it is sufficient to rely on the services of common informers under Section 5 (8) of the National Service (Armed Forces) Act to ensure that conscientious objectors are in fact performing the work of national importance specified by tribunals; and will he take steps to impose a better control of their activities?

I am not aware of any widespread dissatisfaction such as my hon. Friend mentions. In the light of the first six months' working of the Act I have issued instructions instituting a system of checking compliance with orders of tribunals directing conscientious objectors to take up specified civilian work, and statistics will be kept. Where conscientious objectors are found not to be taking reasonable steps to obtain the work specified, the cases will be referred by my Department to the local tribunals.

Does my right hon. Friend realise that his reply will give great satisfaction to all patriots in this country, and if I again put down the Question which I previously asked, requesting him to give me numbers, will he be able to give a reply?

Statistics are being kept.

Will the Minister assure the House that the law will be applied to these conscientious objectors in the same way as it applied to people in the Fighting Services?

I shall do my utmost to administer the provisions of the Act.

Is it not a direct obligation on these men to obtain work just as much as it is on the men in the Armed Forces to do their work?

The law is quite clear?

asked the Minister of Labour whether he will take steps to form a brigade of conscientious objectors to perform non-combatant work of national importance so that their conditions and pay will be similar to the Fighting Services?

asked the Minister of Labour whether, in view of the fact that conscientious objectors are not taking part in the defence of the country, he will take the necessary steps to ensure that they are conscripted to work for the benefit of the country at military rates of pay?

The provisions in the Armed Forces Act with regard to conscientious objectors were approved very recently by Parliament and represented, I think I may say, a general measure of agreement on this difficult subject. Conscientious objectors may be required, in appropriate cases, to perform non-combatant service in the Forces. So far as the suggestions made by my hon. Friends go beyond this they would require an alteration in the law and I do not contemplate introducing legislation for this purpose.

Does not my right hon. Friend think it is extremely unsatisfactory that conscientious objectors should be in a more favourable position with regard to pay and conditions?

That is a matter of opinion.

asked the Minister of Labour in what cases and for whatpurposes persons are being requested to call at Employment Exchanges with their birth certificates and are there questioned as to their parentage, birthplace and office of registration, and why there is an examination of identity card; and whether it is intended that this practice is to be applied generally?

The inquiries and inspection of the documents mentioned are made in cases where it appears that men who may be liable under the National Service (Armed Forces) Act, 1939, to be called up for service have not registered or attended for medical examination as required, and the purpose is to determine whether or not they are, in fact, so liable. The practice is not applied generally but only in cases where liability under the Act is in question.

asked the Home Secretary whether he has now any statement to make in regard to the modification of the black-out restrictions?

No, Sir.

asked the Home Secretary whether he is aware that a large number of inspectors and sergeants of the special constabulary gave up lucrative posts at the outbreak of war in order to render whole-time service, a service that was not to be expected in time of peace; that many of them are undertaking work almost equal to that of regular police officers; and whether, in view of the permanence of the employment, he will revise their rates of pay to conform more nearly to the pay of the regulars?

While I appreciate the work which is being done by those inspectors and sergeants of the Special Constabulary who are now giving full time service, I could not accept the suggestion that their rates of pay should be fixed by reference to the pay of inspectors and sergeants of the regular police. The arrangement made at the outbreak of war was that special constables who are willing to give full time service shall be paid—like other members of the Civil Defence services—a flat rate of £3 a week irrespective of rank or length of service; and the fact that among those who accepted this arrangement there are men who gave up lucrative posts in order to render public service is not, I think, a ground for altering the scheme.

Does the Minister recognise that other forms of Civil Defence are quite different from the duties demanded from the Special Constabulary which, in fact, are more akin to home military service, in which people who have enlisted for the period of the war are paid the same rate as the regular soldiers?

:I have the greatest difficulty in drawing any sharp distinction between one form of Civil Defence and another.

Does the Minister really equate the services of an inspector of Special Constabulary with those of a woman member of the A.F.S.?

I did not make any such comparison.

asked the Home Secretary whether it is proposed to make any charge for replacement or repair of gas-masks where defects are due not to lack of care but to normal wear and tear or to deficiencies in the mask itself?

Members of the public are expected to take reasonable care of the respirators issued to them, and until respirators have been worn under air-raid conditions no question of normal wear and tear should arise. No charge will be made for the replacement or repair of a respirator lost or damaged during an air raid, or during a time when a public air-raid warning is in operation in the area in which the loss or damage occurs; nor will a charge be made if a respirator is found to have been issued in a defective condition.

Is a repair organisation in existence?

Yes, Sir.

asked the Home Secretary whether, in view of the steps taken to provide troops and air-raid personnel with protection against Arthur gas, he will take similar measures for the protection of the civilian population against this gas?

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply which I gave on the 15th February to a Question on this subject by my hon. and gallant Friend the Member for Lewes (Rear-Admiral Beamish).

asked the Home Secretary whether he has any information as to the results of the inspection made at Greenford recently of civilian respirators; what number were found to be defective; and what was the main defect that showed itself?

The inspection at Greenford is still in progress, but I have arranged to be informed of the number of respirators found to be defective and the nature of the defects and I will communicate with the hon. Member.

asked the Home Secretary whether he is aware that some local authorities are passing resolutions urging that power should be given them to proceed against persons who misuse public air-raid shelters; and whether he intends to deal with the matter?

I have not had any representations from local authorities as to the misuse of public shelters. I shall shortly be communicating to local authorities advice as to the best methods of closing public shelters in such a way that they can be promptly opened in the event of an air-raid warning. Many local authorities have already done this. Destruction or theft of property can, of course, be dealt with under the general law and I am not aware that local authorities desire any other powers than are already available to them in order to deal with this matter.

Will the Minister keep in mind that in certain areas where offences have taken place inside public air-raid shelters the magistrate's clerk and the police have rather hesitated to take out summonses, being of the opinion that there was no Statute under which they could deal with such cases? Will he have inquiries made on this point, and if I send him information will he look into it?

I will do that with pleasure.

asked the Home Secretary whether he is prepared to meet representatives from the local authorities to discuss the question of grants in respect of air-raid precautions work for schools in accordance with agreements reached and embodied in the Schedule of the 1937 Act, and which have since been varied?

I have already begun discussions with representatives of local authorities on the general question of expenditure on Civil Defence, and I have promised that expenditure incurred by local education authorities in providing protective works at schools will be taken into account in the course of the statutory review of expenditure under the Air-Raid Precautions Act. In view of the terms of the Question, I should add that there is no foundation for the suggestion that the present rate of Exchequer grant in respect of protective works at schools involves any variation from agreements reached in 1937.

Do I understand that the statements made by the local education authorities are incorrect?

The statements made by local education authorities relate to negotiations to which these authorities were not a party. Those who were concerned in the negotiations did not themselves make any suggestion of this kind. The answer, therefore, is that the local authorities in question have been under a complete misapprehension.

Will the local education authorities be represented in these negotiations as well as the local authorities?

No, Sir, because the question being considered is the burden on the funds of local authorities for that purpose, and it is not necessary to make any distinction between the burden on funds of education authorities and other forms of expenditure.

Is it not a fact that the education authorities have a particular point of view?

I think that point of view is well known.

Is the Minister not aware that a number of schools have been turned into fire stations? Would it not be a great expense to convert them back to schools?

I do not think the expense is thrown on the local education authorities at all.

asked the Minister of Health whether, in view of the growing opposition of persons to being compelled to billet evacuated children, as evidenced in the law courts, he proposes to modify the regulations?

No, Sir. I fear it would not be possible to forego the compulsory powers which enable a billeting authority to make certain of billets for children if the billets required cannot be obtained in the usual way.

Has the right hon. Gentleman seen the result of the census taken by some of the evacuating local authorities and the very poor results obtained in this connection?

Yes, Sir. That makes it all the more necessary that if the emergency arises we should have these powers.

asked the Minister of Health whether he is aware that the failure of parents to register their children for the second evacuation scheme is due to the failure of the Government to offer billets in camps or hostels as an alternative to private houses; and what steps he proposes to take to get over this difficulty?

The answer to the first part of the Question is in the negative. As regards the second part, I would refer the hon. Member to my reply to her on 22nd February and to paragraph 70 of Memorandum Ev.8 of which I am sending her a copy.

Does the right hon. Gentleman recollect that he has ordered this week the dispersal of Fulham School, in spite if the combined protests of teachers and parents, because a few of the private householders are tired and want a rest; and does he think that this is calculated to encourage parents to re-register their children?

The hon. Lady is well aware that both the London County Council, the education authority and the billeting authority desire that this change should be made, and nothing could be worse for evacuation than that the Minister, in response to private representations, should overturn the careful decision of the education and billeting authorities.

Was not this decision due to the failure of private billeting?

No, Sir.

Will the Minister tell me to what it is due?

The hon. Lady has had the opportunity of long interviews on this subject, and I have also had the opportunity of discussing the matter with the education authority and billeting authority concerned. I do not think it would be advisable to go over it again on the Floor of the House.

rose—

We cannot pursue this matter now.

asked the Minister of Health whether adequate provision of sick bays and of hospital treatment now exists for evacuated children in all existing reception areas; whether he is satisfied with provisional medical arrangements for children likely to be evacuated in the new evacuation scheme; and whether similar plans for the treatment of sick and ill evacuated children as have been adopted by the Essex County Council also exist in other comparable counties?

I consider that the arrangements which have been, and are being, made should be adequate. As regards the last part of the Question, I am not clear to what special provision in Essex, differing from that in other reception areas, the hon. Member refers.

Has the right hon. Gentleman had any communication from Essex County Council regarding the necessity for meeting the needs of children who do not actually require to go to hospital but require some special treatment which cannot be given in their billets or homes?

I have had representations from local authorities on that point and have done my best to meet it in circular Ev. 8. If there is any further point which the hon. Member has in mind I should be glad to hear from him.

asked the Minister of Health whether he can report on the response of parents to the new evacuation scheme; the number of children provisionally registered and their approximate proportion to the total number of children now in evacuation areas; whether he has any information respecting the number of children, each month, leaving reception areas to return home, and both the number and percentage of the total original number of evacuated children who have remained in the reception areas; and whether he can give the approximate number and percentage of evacuated mothers who have remained in reception areas?

The registration to which the hon. Member refers in the first part of the Question continued up to the 31st March and I have not as yet received returns from the local authorities. The number of parents who have registered as desiring their children to be evacuated if aerial warfare should develop is, however, small. Returns of the numbers of school children in respect of whom billeting allowances are payable show that the numbers in the reception areas were as follow:

December	434,000
January	393,000
February	365,000
March	347,000

19,500 mothers remained in the reception areas in January, the latest date for which information is available.

In view of the fact that only a small percentage of parents have registered under the new scheme does the right hon. Gentleman propose to take any further action regarding evacuation in the future?

We are making plans to move children if an emergency arises, and we shall naturally review the position when all the returns are in. I do not think I can say more than that at this time.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that German aeroplanes come near to reception areas very much more frequently than they come near to evacuation areas, and is it not time that the whole scheme was dropped?

No, Sir. I think the hon. Member has missed the point about the value of dispersal. A bomb falling in an area where there are 80,000 people to the square mile is likely to do more damage than a bomb falling in a less densely-populated district.

asked the Minister of Pensions whether, in the event of a widow being killed whilst doing duty as a civilian defence volunteer, her children will be granted any compensation?

:In such a case a pension would be payable to any dependent child under the terms of the Personal Injuries (Civilians) Scheme.

asked the Minister of Pensions whether, in the event of a wife being killed whilst doing duty as a civilian defence volunteer, the husband, who has an Army disability pension in respect of his wife which automatically ceases on her death, will be given compensation?

The additional allowance granted to a disablement pensioner in respect of his wife is intended to assist him in maintaining her during her lifetime, and there is no provision for compensation on account of its discontinuance owing to her death from any cause.

In a case like this, where the wife was doing national service and her death means a monetary loss to her husband, will no compensation be paid?

There is no provision for it in the existing legislation.

Has the hon. Member considered those few cases in which, owing to disability or for some other reason, the husband has been financially dependent upon his wife? In those cases cannot there be some compensation?

I have heard of no such cases, but I will consider any that are brought to my notice.

Will the hon. Gentleman consider them?

I have told the hon. Member, yes.

asked the Minister of Pensions whether in the event of a wife being killed whilst doing duty as a civilian defence volunteer, the husband will be granted compensation?

Compensation in the case mentioned would not be due under the Personal Injuries Scheme.

Why should not a man be compensated for the loss of his wife as well as the wife being compensated for the loss of her husband?

The scheme was drawn up on the basis of the loss of the breadwinner.

Is it not possible for the wife to be the breadwinner of the family?

There is such a possibility, but it is very remote.

But if it is so, will the hon. Gentleman consider it?

asked the President of the Board of Education whether school attendance has become compulsory in any districts of Kent?

Compulsory school attendance, except in certain schools where difficulty is being experienced in providing shelter accommodation, has been or will be re-introduced at the beginning of the coming term in all districts of Kent with the exception of Rochester. In two areas compulsory attendance is limited to children over the ages of seven and six respectively.

Can the Parliamentary Secretary say whether in future it will be made compulsory for the President of the Board to hold office for more than a month at a time?

asked the President of the Board of Education whether he can now make a statement respecting present arrangements for the compulsory school attendance of children in evacuation areas; their average weekly hours of education; the approximate number and percentage of evacuable children who are not now evacuated but are receiving education; and the number and percentage of secondary school scholars who are now receiving education in secondary schools in their home area?

A statement of the present position in regard to the various matters to which the hon. Member refers cannot be made until returns for which the Board have asked have been received from the local education authorities concerned and collated. The desired information will be available later this month, and I will send it to the hon. Member as soon as possible.

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether he can state what acreage of grassland was scheduled to be ploughed up in Gloucestershire under the £2-an-acre scheme; and how many acres have actually been ploughed?

For the reasons I gave in reply to a Question by my hon. Friend the Member for Evesham (Mr. De la Bère) yesterday, I do not think that it would be in the interests of the food production campaign to publish the information asked for at this stage, but I can assure the hon. Member that very satisfactory progress indeed has been made in Gloucestershire.

May I ask the Minister whether he is aware that this information is obtainable in the local Press of the counties concerned?

asked the Minister of Agriculture at what date tractors will be available for use in the Rawreth area of Essex?

:So far as I am aware agricultural tractors available in the Rawreth area of Essex are sufficient to meet the needs of the district and no report of any deficiency has been brought to my notice.

Is my right hon. and gallant Friend aware that a large area is waiting to be ploughed up and that they are waiting for tractors but cannot get them?

Perhaps my hon. and gallant Friend will give me some particulars.

asked the Minister of Agriculture what is the cost of raising, training and equipping the Women's Land Army; whether their work on the land is a success and acceptable to farmers; and is he satisfied that this organisation is efficient and economical?

As the answer is long and contains a number of figures, I will, with my hon. Friend's permission, circulate it in the OFFICIAL REPORT.

Can my right hon. Friend answer verbally the last part of the Question?

Yes, Sir. I am satisfied that this organisation is efficient and economical.

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether, as any substantial increase in the number of horses available for transport in the near future in this country would involve importation of horses, and as the expansion of agriculture now proceeding is likely to cause a demand for an increased number of horses for transport purposes for many years to come, he will reinstate the system of grants to encourage horse breeding?

I would refer my hon. and gallant Friend to the reply given to him on 14th March, to which I have nothing to add.

In view of the fact that it has been just announced that the French Government are subsidising horse-breeding and stud farms, thus reversing the policy of the last war, would not the Minister also be strong-minded and reverse his decision, as the amount is only £8,000?

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether, before coming to a decision about the support to be given by his Department for the breeding of horses for use in agriculture, he will set up an expert inquiry into the relative costs of horse and mechanical transport for various agricultural operations and into the relative merits of such transport from a national point of view, taking into account that mechanical transport requires the import both of fuel and of materials for the manufacture of the vehicle whereas horses are reproductive, consume home-produced fodder, and also provide useful by-products?

No, Sir. The question has already been fully considered, and although I appreciate the value of horses for agricultural work, I have reached the conclusion that, in present conditions, we must rely almost entirely upon the use of mechanical power in our campaign to bring about the desired increase in food production. As was explained to my hon. and gallant Friend in reply to his Question on 14th March on the subject, breeding in this and subsequent seasons is not likely to have any effect upon supplies of agricultural horses for some time to come.

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether, in view of the reluctance of tenant farmers to go in for whole-hearted and large-scale improvements that the war demands, in order to secure the maximum output from the farms, he will introduce legislation to safeguard tenant farmers by giving them security of tenure, conditional upon their effective farming, such security of tenure being for the duration of the war and five years afterwards?

In my view the existing provisions of the Agricultural Holdings Act, 1923, in regard to compensation for improvements, for continuous adoption of a special standard or system of farming, and for disturbance are such that no tenant farmer need be deterred from farming his land in the most efficient manner. In these circumstances I am satisfied that there is no case for legislation on the lines indicated.

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether he will confer with the Minister of Labour with a view to the utilisation of the many skilled building operatives who have now no work and are unemployed as a result of the Government's restrictions on building for a comprehensive tile drainage scheme throughout the country, in view of the many millions of waterlogged acres which are unsuitable for mole drainage; and whether he will implement legislation to effect this?

I have already been in consultation with my right hon. Friend the Minister of Labour on this matter and I understand that the Government's programme of works and buildings is expected to absorb a large number of workers in the building and allied industries and therefore it cannot be assumed that skilled building operatives will be available for field drainage work on farms.

Would my right hon. and gallant Friend consider setting up training centres to train men to do draining work? Is it not increasingly certain that this drainage will have to be done in the near future, and would it not be wise to take the initiative at an early date?

I dealt with the question of training last night and I said that I hoped to make a statement in the near future.

Would my right hon. and gallant Friend consider conscripting conscientious objectors for this work?

Will my right hon. and gallant Friend have a word with me afterwards?

We will have some tea.

asked the Minister of Agriculture to what extent vacant and unused land is now being cultivated under the Cultivation of Land (Allotments) Order, 1939; and what steps are being taken to ensure that the councils make the fullest possible use of the powers delegated to them?