asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance how many families in the boroughs of Dartford and Erith as well as the urban district of Crayford are receiving regular grants from National Assistance; and how this compares with 1951.

It is regretted that the precise information asked for is not available. From the Board's area offices at Dartford and Bexley Heath, which cover the borough and rural district of Dartford, the boroughs of Gravesend, Bexley and Erith, and the urban districts of Swanscombe, Northfield and Crayford, 9,317 regular weekly allowances of National Assistance were being paid last September compared with 7,843 in September, 1951.