asked the Under-Secretary of State for Air the number of Air Force establishments in agricultural parishes and where they are situated?

I am not in a position to say which of the Royal Air Force establishments would be regarded as being in agricultural parishes, but I am having prepared, and will send to the hon. Member a statement showing the number and location of those situated outside urban areas.

asked the Home Secretary the number of immigration hostels in agricultural parishes and where they are situated?

I know of no institutions in this country which can be called immigration hostels.

asked the Minister of Health in how many parishes in the county of Middlesex the subsidy of £12 10s. per house under the new Housing Bill will be payable?

A statement giving this information will be prepared and sent to the hon. Member.

asked the Minister of Health how many villages in the administrative county of Worcester will be eligible for the additional subsidy for agricultural parishes under the new Housing Bill; and how many villages will not be so eligible?

A statement, giving this information, will be prepared and sent to the hon. Member.

asked the Minister of Health what is the average price per superficial square foot of the contract placed for parlour houses and non-parlour, houses for each of the last six months in London, the rest of England, and Scotland, respectively?

I will have a statement prepared as regards London and the rest of England and will send it to the hon. Member. As regards Scotland I would suggest that a similar question should be addressed to my right hon. Friend the Secretary for Scotland.

asked the Minister of Health the number of persons, male and female separately, over 70 years of age, who are inmates of the West Ham Union, and the average cost of maintenance per person?

On the 1st January, 1924, the number of persons (not being lunatics in lunatic asylums) over 70 years of age chargeable to the West Ham Union who were in receipt of institutional relief was: men, 497; women, 471. The average cost of the "in-maintenance" in the year 1922–23 of the inmates of the institutions belonging to the Guardians of that Union (other than their institutions for children) was 13s. 9½d. per head per week. This average covers food clothing, medicine, fuel, and lighting, but not salaries of staff or upkeep of buildings and other overhead charges.

asked the Minister of Pensions how many disabled ex-service men have been discharged from his Department this year?

Since the 1st January, 1924, the number of disabled ex-service men employed in the Ministry of Pensions has decreased from 5,860 to 5,490. This decrease includes normal wastage caused by resignation, etc., as well as that due to shrinkage of work and re-organisation. No efficient disabled clerks were discharged owing to redundancy without being given the choice of employment elsewhere in the Ministry.

asked the Home Secretary the Act of Parliament and the section under which ex-Warder H. Hawkins, late Dartmoor Prison, was ordered by the Prison Commissioners in September, 1914, to report and resume duty?

This officer was not called upon to resume duty in 1914, but was re-engaged voluntarily as a temporary office. Later, in November, 1916, at which time a war bonus has been granted to prison officers, he applied to the Commissioners for some consideration, as under the Superannuation Act of 1834 he could not be paid more than with his pension would bring his pay up to what he was receiving before retirement. The only way to assist him was to recall him to permanent service, whereby his pension was suspended and he was given the full pay and bonus of his rank as a permanent officer, and this was done. When he retired again on the 21st March, 1917, his former pension was revived.

asked the Postmaster-General whether he will consult the British Broadcasting Board as to the desirability of transmitting from more than one station in London, on different wave-lengths, so that wireless receivers, may have a greater choice of programme?

Experiments are now being conducted by means of a station at Chelmsford in order to ascertain whether a station of considerably higher power than the present London broadcasting station can be established in the neighbourhood of London without serious detriment to other important services. If, following on these experiments, such a station is established, a choice of programmes will be possible in the case of persons using suitable receiving sets.

asked the Postmaster-General whether, in view of the growing interest in Parliament, he will consider the desirability of making arrangements whereby a résumé of the day in Parliament may be broadcasted between 10 p.m. and 11 p.m. each evening when the House is sitting, the summary to occupy no more than 15 minutes?

Two new bulletins compiled by the principal news agencies are broadcast from the British Broadcasting Company's stations each evening, usually at 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. They include any items of Parliamentary news that are of special interest, and I think they meet the present requirements of the public in this respect.

asked the Postmaster-General how many firms were original members of the British Broadcasting Company; how many have since been added to the register; and whether he can state what effect the great development of broadcasting has had on the finances of the associated companies?

The memorandum and articles of association of the British Broadcasting Company contained the names of seven members, including that of the chairman. It is open to any manufacturer or dealer in British wireless apparatus to become a member of the company; and I understand that there are now approximately 1,400 members on the register. I have no information as to the last paragraph.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether it is the intention of the War Office to issue bars to the War medals; and, if not, what steps will be taken to identify the decorations of the men with the battles in which they were engaged?

It has not hitherto been possible, for reasons of financial stringency, to issue battle clasps to medals for the late War, but the question is still being carefully considered.

asked the Secretary of State for War the total casualties during the late War sustained by the British Empire, the Allied and Associated Powers, the enemy Powers, and Russia?

I would refer the hon. Member to the figures given in the Stationery Office publication of "Statistics of the Military Effort of the British Empire during the Great War," pages 237–240 and 352–357. I am requesting the Stationery Office to send a copy of this book to the Library of the House.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether he will state the total deaths and other casualties which occurred during the Battle of the Somme in 1916, and give similar figures for the Battle of Albert, 1st July to 13th July, 1916, as regards all the Powers concerned?

I regret that the precise figures asked for are not available; figures as to the casualties in France during the period of the Somme offensive are, how- ever, given on page 324 of the book to which I am referring the hon. Member in my reply to another question. The casualties in France during July, 1916, are given on page 258 of the same book.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what is the total amount paid by Parliament to merchant seamen of all ranks in respect of war compensation; whether any remittances in respect of reparations to merchant seamen have been received from Germany; and whether, in the event of such payments being made, the amount so received will be distributed amongst such merchant seamen of all ranks?

As to the first part of the question, the total of the payments already made out of public funds to merchant seamen (including fishermen) and their dependants in respect of loss and damage during the War, together with the present value of pensions still running, is in the neighbourhood of £12,000,000. As to the remaining parts of the question, I would refer to the answer given to the right hon. Member for Aston (Sir E. Cecil) by the Financial Secretary to the Treasury on 26th June.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty, with reference to the high proportion of established men at the present date as compared with the year 1914, whether he can say to what extent the figures have been swollen, as far as Devonport is concerned, by the partial closing down of Rosyth and Pembroke Dockyards, and the opportunity consequently given to established men from Rosyth and Pembroke to be transferred to Devonport?

The number of established workmen transferred from Rosyth and Pembroke to Devonport Dockyard, mainly owing to reductions at the former yards, since the War, is 125.