asked the Secretary of State for War what steps does he propose taking to prevent boys enlisting into the Army under age and without their parents' consent; will he amend the special instructions to King's Regulations to release such boys who are serving on production of the birth certificate by the parent; and will he make the production of the birth certificate qualification for all future enlistments into the Army as is required by the police and Civil Service authorities?

Under the Recruiting Regulations (paragraph 91) a boy may not be enlisted as such without the written consent of his parents or guardians. As regards recruits presenting themselves for enlistment as men, there is a standing instruction (paragraph 66, Recruiting Regulations) that where there is the slightest suspicion that the recruit is under the age of 18, full inquiries are to be made before his enlistment is finally approved. A soldier who is found to be under 17 years of age when an application is made for his discharge, is not held to serve; if he is over 17 years of age he is held to servo except where in special cases a discharge is sanctioned on compassionate grounds. I do not consider that it is practicable to go further and insist on the production of birth certificates before enlistment without hardship and expense to intending recruits.

asked the Secretary of State for War what has been the cost since their establishment of training schools for tradesmen in the Army; how many men have attended them during the year 1924-25; and how many have passed the tests at the end of the course?

I understand that the hon. and gallant Member is referring to the Vocational Training Centres at Hounslow and Catterick for men about to leave the colours. Since their official establishment in April, 1923, these training centres have cost about £75,000. Between 1st April, 1924, and 31st March, 1925, 980 men will have attended; of these, 562 have completed their course and have obtained certificates of qualification; the remaining 417 have not yet completed their course.

asked the Secretary of State for Air what is the total strength of the Royal Air Force, including those serving in India, showing officers, warrant officers, non-commissioned officers, airmen, and boys of the regular establishment, and also civilians both permanently employed and those employed as civilian labourers, each separately; what is the total number in each of the above categories who actually hold pilots' certificates; how many in each category are under instruction to fly; how many in each category are employed in the construction, repair and maintenance of machines borne on the strength of units: and how many are in each category employed in stores depots at home and overseas, respectively?

As regards the first part of the question, the total strength of the Royal Air Force is 3,282 officers. 115 cadets, 292 warrant officers, 4,512 non-commissioned officers, 22,049 aircraftsmen, 2,406 boys. As regards civilians employed, on the assumption that by "civilians permanently employed" and "those employed as civilian labourers" my hon. and gallant Friend refers to non-industrials and industrials, respectively, the figures are 2,744 and 14,179 respectively.As regards the second part, there are 2,038 officers and 107 warrant officers and non-commissioned officers qualified as pilots, but no information is available as to the number of civilian employés holding pilots' certificates.As regards the third part, 274 officers and 38 warrant officers, non-commissioned officers and aircraftsmen are under flying instruction. I am not aware that any civilian employees are under flying instruction.As regards the fourth part, about 6,250 warrant officers, non - commissioned officers and aircraftsmen, and 87 non-industrial and 1,397 industrial civilians belong to trades directly concerned with the construction and repair of aircraft and engines, and also with maintenance, but many others are employed on duties connected with maintenance, etc., in a broad sense. It is impossible to give a corresponding figure for officers, since their duties are not confined to this kind of work.As regards the last part of the question, there are 51 officers, 315 non-industrial and 2,067 industrial civilians employed at home stores depots, and 28 officers, 310 warrant officers, non-commissioned officers and aircraftsmen, and 36 non-industrial and 256 industrial civilians employed at stores depots overseas.

asked the Secretary of State for Air if he is aware that an Austrian subject named Albert Hainmer is employed in the catering department at Digby aerodrome near Sleaford; and if he will consider employing a British-born subject in his place?

The man referred to is not an employé of the Air Ministry. I am informed that he is employed outside the aerodrome by the mess contractor, but I understand that he is about to leave this employment.

asked the Minister of Health whether he has received a number of complaints, from small builders who have built workmen's houses under the 1923 Act, and have for various reasons been refused payment of the subsidy; and, in view of the fact that many of these men were under the impression when they commenced building that their houses would rank for subsidy, whether he is prepared to give special consideration to cases in which great hardship has been caused by non-payment?

I have from time to time received individual complaints to which I have given very careful consideration. In most cases, upon investigation, it has transpired that the houses had been commenced before the local authority's scheme for the assistance of private enterprise under the Housing Acts had been approved. As I have previously stated in the House, I am prepared to authorise the payment of the equivalent of the subsidy in cases in which houses were begun on the strength of assurances of subsidy by the local authority even though the authority's scheme had not been approved when the assurance was given; and in a considerable number of cases such a payment to the builder has been authorised.

asked the Minister of Health the number of subsidy-aided houses completed and ready for occupation in 1924 by private enterprise and by local authorities, respectively; the number of houses erected without subsidy during that year; and if he is able to estimate the number of houses which will, in normal circumstances, be completed in 1925 by private enterprise and by local authorities, respectively?

The number of houses completed with State assistance under the Housing Acts during the year ended 31st December, 1924, was

Local authorities schemes	17,275
Private enterprise schemes	35,455
Total	52,730

Returns as to building by private enterprise without subsidy are obtained half-yearly in March and September. During the year ended 30th September last 73,032 houses were so provided. With regard to the last part of my hon. and gallant Friend's question, I should not care to commit myself to such an estimate as ho suggests, but I am hopeful that the total output of houses in the coming year may exceed the number erected in any pre-War year.

asked the Minister of Health whether the Parish of Benfleet, South-East Essex, has adopted the various Housing Acts; if so, how many applications have been made for subsidies under the Acts; and how many have been granted?

The housing authority for a rural parish is the rural district council, not the parish council. It is not clear whether the hon. Member is referring to the parish of North Ben-fleet, in the Billericay Rural District, or to the parish of South Benfleet, in the Rochford Rural District. The Billericay Rural District Council have undertaken to pay subsidies on 218 houses, but I cannot say how many of these are in the parish of North Benfleet. The Rochford Rural District Council have as yet no approved scheme for the granting of subsidies, but the question has recently been discussed with representatives of the

Year.				Payments of Medical Benefit.			Payments of Maternity Benefit.
				Medical Service (Doctors).*	Medical Supplies (Medicines, etc.).	Total.
				£	£	£	£
1913	…	…	…	2,860,000	736,000	3,596,000	1,077,000
1914	…	…	…	4,140,000	1,051,000	5,191,000	1,206,000
1915	…	…	…	3,388,000	866,000	4,254,000	1,120,000
1916	…	…	…	3,699,000	956,000	4,655,000	1,079,000
1917	…	…	…	3,520,000	940,000	4,460,000	919,000
1918	…	…	…	4,115,000	1,041,000	5,156,000	882,000
1919	…	…	…	4,927,000	1,092,000	6,019,000	1,042,000
1920	…	…	…	7,413,000	1,543,000	8,956,000	1,695,000
1921	…	…	…	7,926,000	1,468,000	9,394,000	1,747,000
1922	…	…	…	6,961,000	1,488,000	8,449,000	1,606,000
1923	…	…	…	6,681,000	1,509,000	8,190,000	1,526,000
* Including payments to doctors in respect of the domiciliary treatment of persons suffering from tuberculosis.

asked the Minister of of Health the number of sick and accident cases relieved each year since the passing of the National Health Insurance Act; the number of women relieved each year; the number of men relieved each year; the total number of weeks of relief; and the total number of insured persons each year?

In the year 1923 there were, approximately, 13,317,900 insured persons in England and Wales, of whom8,992,100 were men and4,325,800 were women,

also asked the Minister Health if he will give the amount spent each year since the passing of the National Health Insurance Act on medical service (doctors), medical supplies (medicine, etc.), and maternity benefit, respectively?

The following statement gives the approximate amount spent in England and Wales in each year since the passing of the National Insurance Act, 1911, to the end of the year 1923 on the respective services specified in the question:of the domiciliary treatment of persons sufferingand in that year the total payments of sickness and disablement benefits amounted to a sum of £11,533,400, of which £7,677,500 was paid to men and £3,855,900 was paid to women.A table, giving for England the total number of insured persons, the receipts and expenditure on benefits for each of the last 10 years, is given on pages 166 and 167 of the Fifth Annual Report of the Ministry of Health. Cmd. 2218 (1924).It is not possible to give the number of cases assisted in a year or the total number of weeks of sickness, as no occasion has arisen for requiring approved societies to keep such statistics, and the necessary data are, therefore, not available.

asked the Minister of Health whether he is aware that the cost of erecting an isolation hospital for the treatment of infectiou diseases in the Parts of Lindsey, as proposed, would have to be recovered by means of a special county levy over the whole area served by such a hospital, and that the cost of maintenance and treatment of patients would have to be recovered in the same way; and whether he proposes to introduce legislation this Session with a view to removing this hardship which arises under the existing Public Health Acts?

The answer to the first part of the question is in the affirmative. As regards the second part, I am anxious to introduce legislation for the amendment of the Public Health Acts in this and other respects as soon as opportunity offers, but I cannot at present say whether this will be possible during the present Session.

asked the Minister of Health the number of mothers and infants medically certified in West Ham and in the London County Council area, separately, for 1924, as requiring a free supply of milk for reasons of health; and how many infants were suffering from debility, under-weight, and kindred ailments as a result of malnutrition?

I regret that this information is not available, and I am advised that any statistics which it would be practicable to obtain on these points would not be of sufficient value to justify the labour involved in their collection.

asked the Attorney-General whether difficulty has been experienced in connection with the working of the poor peoples legal rules at present situate at the Royal Courts of Justice so far as the provision of an adequate number of solicitors is concerned; and whether he has considered the Report of the Poor Persons Rules Committee recently published?

The answer to the first part of the question is in the affirmative. It was in consequence of the difficulty referred to in the question that the Poor Persons Rules Committee was appointed. The Report of the Committee is at present under the consideration of my right hon. and Noble Friend the Lord Chancellor.

asked the Secretary for Mines the quantity of coal used for domestic consumption in 1923 and 1924, respectively, and the estimated expenditure thereon on the part of the consumers?

The quantity of coal (other than miners' coal) used for domestic consumption in 1923 is estimated to have been about 33,700,000 tons. The estimate for 1924 is not yet available. I have no means of estimating the domestic consumers' total annual expenditure on coal.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether any record is kept of the contracts placed by British firms or authorities abroad owing to the underbidding of foreign contractors?

I am not aware of any record of the kind suggested, nor do I think it would be possible to collect the requisite information.

asked the President of the Board of Trade the imports and re-exports of sugar, molasses, and other sweetening materials into and from Great Britain in each year from 1913 onwards?

Complete figures for 1924 are not yet available. As soon as they have been prepared I will publish the full information desired in the OFFICIAL REPORT.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what the present staff of the Food Control Board consists of; what is its cost to the Treasury; and when it is proposed to close this Department entirely?

The staff of the Food Department of the Board of Trade has been reduced from time to time as its work diminished; and now consists of 23 officers, whose total salary cost is at the rate of about £9,500 per annum. This staff is mainly engaged upon the liquidation of accounts and claims involving large sums of money. The judgment of the House of Lords in the case of Swift and Company v. Board of Trade (Food Department), which was delivered yesterday, settles the broad principles of compensation in respect of requisitioned bacon, but a mass of details has to be explored before the claims of the American packers can be finally adjusted. It is expected that all the liquidation work will be finished in the early autumn, and it will not be possible to close the Department before then.

asked the Minister of Labour the approximate numbers of persons at present totally unemployed in receipt of ordinary and extended unemployment benefit under the following categories: men over 60 years of age, men between 18 and 26 years of age, men between 26 and 60 years of age, married women, and unmarried women; and the numbers affected in each category by the operation of the Ministry of Labour Circular, No. 8,213?

Periodic statistics of age distribution or marital state are not regularly collected, but the results of a special inquiry made in November, 1924, showed that at that date out of 868,300 men with claims to unemployment benefit current 181,600 were from 18 to 24 years of age, 566,900 were from 25 to 59 years, and 119,800 were 60 years and over. Of 195,700 female applicants of 18 years and over, 108,700 were single, 74,400 were married and 12,600 were widows. About 9,300 men and 550 women have been affected by the Circular referred to, but an analysis of these figures under the various categories mentioned is not available.

asked the Secretary for Scotland whether, in view of the dissatisfaction which is being expressed in the Highlands of Scotland as to the allocation of the drainage grant in connection with the Government's unemployment relief scheme, he will state the principles on which the grant is allocated; how many holders paying less than £50 of rent have received a grant; how many holders with a rental of £50-£l00 have received a grant; and how many with a rental of over £100; how many applicants have been successful in obtaining a grant in each of the past three years; how many have been successful in two out of the three past years; how many have been successful in one year out of the past three; how many have been disappointed in each of the past three years; and what sums were paid in each of the last three years to occupiers of land in each county in Scotland?

With regard to the first part of the question the grants under the current scheme have been allocated, primarily, in those parts of the country where unemployment is most acute; and further, in accordance with the conditions of the scheme, a preference has been given, as far as possible, to cases in which two or more parties combined to carry out a co-ordinated scheme of works. Elsewhere in the country the distribution of grants has been made so that with the limited funds available as many districts as possible might receive such a share as might be fully utilised in the employment of men out of work. With regard to the remainder of the question no discrimination was made in the matter of the value of the holdings occupied by applicants The guiding principle was the relief of unemployment and the applications of the smallholders had equal consideration with those of large farmers. In these circumstances I am not prepared to instruct the compilation of the whole of the detailed information desired by the hon. and gallant Member as its preparation would entail a large amount of wort which would be out of proportion to its utility.The accompanying statement shows, however, for the last three schemes, particulars for each county of the amount of the grants offered.SCHEMES OF LAND IMPROVEMENT AND DRAINAGE WORK FOR THE UNEMPLOYED.

Amount of Grants offered by the Board of Agriculture.
—	1922–23	1923–24	1924–25
	Scheme.	Scheme.	Scheme.
	£	£	£
Aberdeen	2,420	890	2,646
Argyll	9,971	7,210	3,354
Ayr	5,716	3,770	4,573
Banff	1,289	2,219	1,352
Berwick	1,328	925	1,135
Bute	1,176	1,073	392
Caithness	5,361	3,790	2,211
Clackmannan	166	156	156
Dumbarton	48	—	372
Dumfries	4,348	5,800	3,973
East Lothian	953	196	297
Fife	559	399	1,180
Forfar	1,417	267	977
Inverness	1,140	120	486
Kincardine	339	142	284
Kinross	72	—	299
Kirkcudbright	2,544	2,785	1,992
Lanark	1,584	222	1,805
Midlothian	209	265	393
Moray	1,010	2,139	1,714
Nairn	86	—	—
Orkney	407	219	146
Peebles	300	302	393
Perth	1,569	1,006	2,199
Renfrew	363	158	385
Ross	4,358	2,730	2,092
Roxburgh	1,080	1,274	2,082
Selkirk	915	546	356
Shetland	780	260	162
Stirling	3,328	1,422	2,110
Sutherland	2,776	2,014	1,258
West Lothian	282	89	50
Wigtown	4,596	2,737	2,558

asked the Minister of Labour whether, in view of the effects upon men and women who have been engaged in a long and fruitless search for employment. he will consider the possibility of minimising this mental depression by making it obligatory upon employers to notify the Employment Exchanges of all vacancies?

The suggestion that notification of vacancies to Employment Exchanges should be compulsory is one that has not infrequently been put forward, but I doubt very much whether it would be practicable to make it a legal requirement. At the same time I think it is of the greatest importance that employers generally should adopt the practice of notifying their vacancies in as many cases as possible, as is already done by many employers.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he has received any information as to discussions between the Australian Government officials and American bankers in regard to Australian Government and State loans being floated on the New York market?

The answer is in the negative.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if a British trade consul is to be appointed for Iraq; if so, when he will be appointed; and if he will be located at Basra?

I have been asked to answer this question. Discussions are taking place between the Government Departments concerned regarding the appointment of a British Consul at Basra, and it is hoped that a decision may be reached very shortly.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what Customs duties and what Excise duties, if any, were levied upon sugar, molasses, and other sweetening materials in each year from 1913 onwards; and what were, in each of these years, the total Exchequer receipts under each of these various heads?

The information required by the hon. and gallant Member is contained in the following tables:

asked the Postmaster-General whether any special privileges as regards rear lights have been accorded in the past to the royal mail motor vans; and, if so, whether he will put a stop to this practice?

No special privileges as regards rear lights are accorded to motor mail vans, which are subject to the same rules and regulations in this respect as other motor vans.

asked the Postmaster-General when the new post office at Walsall is likely to be commenced, provision for which was made in last year's estimates; and why it has not been commenced?

The expansion of the telephone service made it essential to revise the original plans of the building, and consequently delayed the commencement of building operations. It is anticipated that building operations will be commenced in May next.

asked the Minister of Agriculture what area of land in Great Britain, and in what counties situated, was devoted to the cultivation of sugar beet in each year from 1913 onwards; and how many persons were employed in its cultivation in each of these years, respectively?

The following table shows the total acreage of sugar beet in Great Britain for the years 1913 to 1924 and the acreage in each county of England and Wales in which 10 acres or more were grown. I regret that I have no information which would enable mo to furnish the particulars asked for in the last part of the hon. and gallant Member's question, but it is estimated that one additional man is employed in respect of each 10 acres of beet:

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he will lay the information contained in the recent German offer of a West European pact before the House?

The German offer is not as yet in a form in which it could properly be laid before the House. The communication originally made to me in strict confidence was of a tentative nature and has since been the subject of further amplification. I expect to deal with the subject in general terms in next week's Debate, but the interchange of views which has so far taken place has not proceeded sufficiently far to enable me to give a precise definition of the shape which the German Government would ultimately propose to give to their suggestions: and too great insistence on particular points at this moment might jeopardise the prospects of negotiations now in their early stages.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he can give the terms of the amendment of Article 16 of the Covenant of the League of Nations, which was made by the Second Assembly of the League, together with the names of the nations that have ratified the amendment?

Four amendments to Article 16 were adopted by the Second Assembly. The text will be found in the records of the Assembly, a copy of which is in the Library of the House. The first amendment was superseded by an amendment adopted by the Fifth Assembly, the text of which will also be found in the Library. I am not aware that any country has yet ratified the last-mentioned amendment. The names of those which have ratified the three remaining amendments of 1921 are given in the annex to the supplementary report to the Fifth Assembly on the work of the Council and Secretariat, which is also in the Library. Greece should be added to the list in respect of all three.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs when the results of the research work of Dr. Gooch and Major Temperley in the Foreign Office are likely to be ready for publication?

I cannot at this stage give even approximate dates for the appearance of the volumes, which it is hoped to publish at intervals during the next two or three years.

asked the Home Secretary (1) whether he will state, for the last 10 years for which statistics are available, the number of persons who have been convicted of murder and executed, the number so convicted and not executed, and the number convicted of attempted murder, respectively; how many in each class had not been previously convicted of felony or misdemeanour; how many had been once so previously convicted; and how many had been twice or oftener so previously convicted;(2) how many murders were known to the police during each of the years 1906 to 1923 in England and Wales; how many persons were charged in connection with those murders; how many persons were convicted of murder and how many were actually executed; and the number of instances in which the murderer is known to have committed suicide after committing the crime?

I will let the hon. Member have such figures on the subject as can be extracted from the statistics published for the years in question.

asked the Home Secretary if he is aware that the amount of the award in the Workmen's Compensation Act is based on the average wage for the previous 12 months, so that if a man has only worked for a short time during that period his compensation award is very materially reduced; and will he arrange that this anomaly shall be remedied?

I would point out that the compensation is only computed on the average earnings during the previous 12 months in cases where the workman has been employed during that period in the employment of the same employer, which is defined to mean employment by the same employer in the grade in which the workman was employed at the time of the accident, uninterrupted by absence from work due to illness or other similar unavoidable cause If the workman has been less than 12 months in the same employment, then the earnings are calculated over the period during which he has actually been in the employment, but special provision is made to meet cases where it is impracticable owing to the short duration of the employment to arrive at a fair estimate. I am aware that in reckoning the average earnings, periods of short time due to fluctuations of trade or other circumstances which are a normal incident of the employment are included, but I see nothing anomalous in this. The governing principle of the Act is that the average weekly earnings shall be computed in such manner as is best calculated to give the rate per week at which the workman was being remunerated, and it would be clearly inconsistent with this principle if the days or weeks on which, as a result of trade conditions, he was not at work or working only short time, were excluded.

asked the Home Secretary the number of young persons, boys

NUMBER of Juveniles dealt with in Juvenile Courts for simple drunkenness and drunkenness with aggravations, with results.
Year.				Total.	Result.
					Withdrawn or dismissed.	Charge proved and Order made.	Convicted.
1918	…	…	…	4	—	4	—
1919	…	…	…	5	—	4	1
1920	…	…	…	5	1	3	1
1921	…	…	…	4	—	3	1
1922	…	…	…	—	—	—	—
1923	…	…	…	1	—	1	—
1924	…	…	…	Not available.

Such figures on the subject as can be extracted from the annual judicial statistics are as follow: