(1) asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty if he is aware that men employed in the paint shop in His Majesty's dockyard, Portsmouth, were detailed for caulking work which was to be done; and will he state why application was not made to the local Employment Exchange for qualified tradesmen for this work;(2) asked the Minister of Labour if he is aware that certain caulkers, now registered at the Employment Exchange at Portsmouth, have been deprived of the opportunity of working at their trade when caulking work arose in His Majesty's dockyard because other workmen were taken from other departments, where they were employed as labourers, to do this caulking; and will he investigate the case of these men, some of whom have been unemployed since 1921, and who are anxious to follow their calling?

I will, with the hon. Member's permission, answer these questions together. Dockyard workmen qualified for caulking work are transferred to other work such as rough painting, instead of being discharged, when it is no longer possible to employ them on caulking. These men are given the opportunity to return to caulking work when more men are required for that work. It is not necessary to obtain additional men from the Employment Exchange whilst the men qualified to perform the required work are already employed in the dockyard.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty when the post-War staffs in the Armament Supply Department are going to be settled; and whether he will take steps to hasten on the settlement, as many men have been holding acting positions for a considerable period, and are naturally anxious to be confirmed from the date of their original appointment in their acting ranks?

The numbers and grades of officers in the post-War complement of the Armament Supply Department have been determined. A number of confirmed appointments, however, have yet to be made in the complement of the Department. Owing to the special conditions which have arisen, largely as a result of the War, it is not possible to make these appointments immediately. The question is under consideration, and will be dealt with as early as possible, and the claims of officers holding higher acting positions will not he overlooked when a final settlement is reached.

asked the Minister of Labour what were the exact amounts of contribution paid by the State to the Unemployment Insurance Fund for 1921, 1922, and 1923; and what is the estimated amount paid, and payable, for the present year, including the effect of all the different proposals introduced into Parliament since 1st January, 1924?

The contribution paid by the State to the Unemployment Fund is as follows:

asked the Postmaster-General whether he will arrange that the post office and telegraph office in Church Street, Walker, Newcastle-on-Tyne, shall be kept open throughout the whole day, including Wednesdays, and for one hour on Sundays, in view of the great inconvenience which is being suffered by the residents at present, owing to there being no post office or telegraph office within 2½miles open during the hours when the post office in question is closed?

I will look further into this question, and write to the hon. Member.

asked the Minister of Health whether any progress is being made with the Spahlinger treatment; and how the matter now stands?

As Far as I am concerned, this matter stands as it did on the 16th April, when I stated, in reply to a question by the hon. Member for Lincoln (Mr. A. T. Davies), that I was anxious to arrange for a scientific investigation of this method of treatment in this country as soon as the materials were made available, and had personally given M. Spahlinger assurances to that effect.

asked the Minister of Health the number of houses he proposes to allocate under the new Housing Bill to Newport (Mon.); and what is the number of persons resident in the borough per house on the two last available Census years?

I cannot at this stage say what number of houses will be provided under the new Housing Bill, in any particular area. As regards the second part of the question, according to the Census table the average number of persons per house in the Borough of Newport in 1911 and 1921 was 5·66 and 5·79 respectively.

asked the Minister of Health whether he will give directions for separate records to be kept in his Department of such local authorities as make default in carrying out their duties under any part of the Housing Acts or the Public Health Acts and of the consequent action taken in such cases by the Ministry of Health as the responsible supervisory authority?

The cases in which local authorities are formally declared to be in default will be reported in the Annual Report of the Ministry. As regards the ordinary administration of local authorities under the Housing Acts and Public Health Acts, the Department is constantly watching and taking action where necessary and advantageous, but such day-to-day work cannot usefully be made the subject of statistical record.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury whether he is now in a position to furnish the following desired particulars as to old age pensions, namely; particulars as to year ended 31st March, 1924; total amount paid in pensions; the total cost of administration; the total number of pensions actually payable on the first Friday in March, 1924, stating those of men and those for women, separately in both cases; the number of pensions paid at the varying rates of 10s., 9s., 8s., 7s., 6s., 5s., 4s., 3s., 2s., and 1s.; the number of applications for pensions; the number of applications rejected, giving various causes of rejection, age, poor relief, means, and other causes; the number of pensioners of whose deaths notifications have reached the office of the pension officers during the year ended as above; the number of paupers over 70 years of age in England, Scotland, and Wales, and in institutions, stating the average cost per head per annum; the number of paupers over 70 years of age in receipt of out-door relief, stating the average cost per head per annum of men and women separately in both cases; the average weekly cost of a convict in penal servitude and a prisoner in ordinary prisons for the year ended as above; and the number of persons over 70 years of age in prisons and penal servitude during the year ended as above?

The particulars desired by my hon. Friend, so far as they are available, are as follow: