asked the Secretary for Mines whether his attention has been drawn to the large number of fatal, and of serious non-fatal, accidents that occur annually in the coal mines of Great Britain due to defective methods of shot-firing without the precaution of shielding the detonators; and whether he has ascertained why detonators fitted with shielding are not in general use as a means of ensuring greater safety in the operation of shot-firing in all gaseous mines?

:The number of shot-firing accidents which the use of shielded detonators might prevent is not large, but very small. Shielded detonators have not come into use, presumably because, if the statutory precautions be taken, such detonators do not make shot-firing appreciably safer.

asked the Minister of Transport whether he proposes to take any action with a view to public safety in the matter of the glare from motor headlights?

:I would refer my hon. Friend to the answer that I gave on the 29th April to the hon. Member for the Duddeston Division of Birmingham (Mr. Burman), of which I am sending him a copy.

asked the Minister of Transport whether he is aware that the Edgware Road, which is one of the main thoroughfares to Wembley, has been closed in stretches for several months; and whether, in view of the serious hindrance to Wembley traffic caused thereby, he will make representations to the local authorities with a view to their completing the repairs at the earliest possible moment?

:Edgware Road is being closed to traffic in sections to enable the Metropolitan Water Board to lay down two lines of water pipes in accordance with statutory powers conferred upon them by the Metropolitan Water Board (Various Powers) Act, 1921. Having regard to the probable inconvenience to Wembley traffic, my Department some time ago took up with the Board the question of expediting the work as rapidly as possible, and as a result, I am satisfied that every endeavour is being made to complete the work as soon as possible and to keep alternative routes open. It is hoped that the road will be opened wholly to traffic in the course of a few weeks.

asked the Minister of Transport whether he is aware of the increase in expenditure on roads by local authorities in recent years; that the railway companies pay in local rates over £7,000,000 per annum; and that this money is used for the up-keep of roads affording facilities for competition with the railway companies; and whether, in view of these facts, he is prepared to appoint a commission of inquiry, independent of the Road Board and local authorities, to examine the facts and formulate a scheme which would be fair to the ratepayers, the users of the roads and to the railway companies?

:I do not know on what ground the hon. Member assumes that the railway companies' contribution towards local rates is entirely devoted to the upkeep of roads. The question of the distribution of the cost of highways between their users and the general body of ratepayers, including railway companies, is part of the wider problem of local taxation and cannot be considered separately.

asked the Minister of Transport whether he is aware that the new arterial road to Southend, which was recently opened, has already developed many surface inequalities; that the strip of shingle provided as a footpath is so loose and unpleasant to walk upon that pedestrians are driven to the roadway, and thus exposed to danger; and whether, in view of this fact, he is prepared to have the footpath bordering this road rolled and made suitable for pedestrian traffic?

:Any superficial inequalities occurring in the carriageway are being made good by the contractors responsible for the maintenance of the road, except at certain points where a temporary surface has necessarily been laid, pending the ultimate consolidation of embankments. The footway has been cut up in places by equestrian traffic. Steps have been taken to remedy this damage and to preserve the footway for its proper use by pedestrians.

asked the Minister of Transport if his attention has been drawn to the unsatisfactory travelling facilities on the Brighton section of the Southern Railway between Lancing and London; and whether he will take suitable action to bring about an improvement with a view to the prevention of delays in travelling, whereby many travellers miss the connection of through trains at Brighton?

:My attention has not previously been called to this matter. Perhaps the hon. and gallant Member would furnish me with particulars showing in detail in what respects he considers that the present facilities for travelling between Lancing and London are unsatisfactory. I would then ask the railway company to look into the matter.

asked the Minister of Transport the total receipts of the Road Fund for the year ending 31st March, 1925, the expenditure of the fund during that period, and the balance in hand unexpended and unappropriated at that date?

:The total receipts into, and payments out of, the Road Fund during the year 1924–25 amounted to £16,067,607 16s. 9d. and £15,203,332 8s. 4d. respectively. The cash and investment balance at the 31st March last amounted to £17,200,316 4s. 4d. The whole of this balance had been appropriated to particular works, and in addition the future revenues of the fund had been anticipated to a total of £17,250,000 approximately.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he can give the details of the £1,502,393 worth of goods exported to Russia from the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland during the first three months of this year, distinguishing between manufactured articles and raw materials, and also similar information in regard to the £3,097,418 worth of foreign and colonial merchandise re-exported to Russia from this country during the same period?

:For the purposes of the Trade Returns of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, analyses of trade with individual countries are only made in respect of calendar years. Those for 1924 are in process of compilation, but will not be completed for some time. Accordingly, the trade returns will not disclose details of our exports to Russia during the first three months of this year. In the case, however, of imported merchandise re-exported to Russia, particulars are given in the monthly accounts relating to the following re-exports: Re-exports of cotton consigned to Russia amounted to £1,283,743; of crude rubber to £403,212; and of tea to £210,030. These re-exports constituted over 61 per cent. of the total re-exports to Russia in the period.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he will introduce legislation making compulsory the insertion in every book of the date of compilation or of issue, in view of the mass of technical literature published in recent years and the difficulty in ascertaining readily the most up-to-date publications on various technical subjects?

:I cannot hold out any prospect of such legislation.

asked the President of the Board of Trade (1) what assistance is given by the Imperial Government to Dominion Governments by way of encouraging the placing of contracts in Great Britain;

(2) what Dominions or Colonies have taken advantage of British credit facilities in the matter of contracts;

(3) the approximate total value of contracts in the Dominions and Colonies which have been placed as a result of credit facilities granted to overseas Governments?

:Apart from the very considerable assistance which the Dominions receive from the fact that, under the Colonial Stock Act, their stocks are Trustee Stocks, the Treasury are authorised by the Trade Facilities Act, 1924, to pay to the Dominion Governments an amount not exceeding three-quarters of the interest payable in the first five years of the currency of a loan raised by that Dominion in this country, in respect of such portion of the loan as is to be expended in the United Kingdom, subject to various conditions, the most important of which are that the expenditure involved in the scheme must be in anticipation of expenditure which would normally have been incurred at a later date, and that the application of the proceeds of the loan in the manner proposed is calculated to promote employment in the United Kingdom. The maximum sum which the Treasury may pay in any one year under this arrangement is £1,000,000, and the maximum sum which they may pay in all is £5,000,000. A number of schemes have been received and considered, and in two cases (West Australia and Newfoundland) provisional arrangements have been made affecting contracts totalling approximately £250,000 in all. Of those contracts it is believed that upwards of £100,000 has been placed up to the present.

asked the Minister of Agriculture what is the credit balance or deficit as between the sales and costs of Ordnance Survey maps; and on which types and scales of map, if any, deficits are made, and to what extent?

:The Ordnance Survey is not (primarily conducted as a trading concern, and its system of accounts does not enable me to give in detail a credit or deficit account as between the sales and cost of the various types and scales of maps produced.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty, with reference to those men employed in the Naval Armament Supply Department, Bombay, whether he is aware that the wages of these men are calculated in sterling, but actually paid at the current rate of rupee, which at the present rate of exchange means a loss of 2d. on every 1s. 6d. to the recipient; and whether, seeing that the Income Tax is paid on a sterling calculation, and that therefore the employés of the Admiralty pay tax on money they do not receive, the Admiralty can see its way to pay wages at the standard rate of rupee, namely, 15 to the £ sterling, the rate at which other Government services are paid?

:The pay of store-housemen, to which grade it is understood the men referred to belong, is based on sterling wherever they are serving. Charges for Income Tax, etc., are therefore necessarily based on sterling, any balance of pay drawn on the station being issued in currency in accordance with its value, I may add that, in addition to receiving the home yard rate of bonus, these men receive Colonial allowance to compensate for any excess cost in living.

asked the Secretary of State for Air if he is yet in a position to make a statement in regard to economies in Air Force administration in the Near East?

:I hope to be in a position to make a statement on this subject shortly.

asked the Secretary of State for Air how many aero engines, and how many types of aero engine, were tested to destruction in the year ending the 31st March, 1925, with a view to the successive elimination of weak points in design?

:If by testing to destruction my hon. and gallant Friend means testing until some definite failure is disclosed, the answer is that every type of engine under test, amounting to 26 types in all, was so tested in the year ending 81st March last. The object of these tests is to obtain a progressive increase in the power output of engines while conforming to the prescribed standard of reliability, and failures occurring in any particular tests indicate the modifications required before an engine can be accepted at the rating which is being aimed at. It would be a matter of great difficulty to give- the exact number of engines concerned, since the same engine may be submitted to test many times and may develop either the same or different failures at different times, and, moreover, the tests are carried out at various centres, the records of which would have to be consulted.

asked the Secretary of State for Air whether the commercial operation of the air route between Egypt and Iraq or of a route between Iraq and India is now again contemplated by the Air Council; and, if so, when it is proposed to bring such a policy into effect?

:The question of the operation of a commercial air service between Egypt and India is again being carefully examined, and I hope to be in a position to make an announcement on the subject shortly.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether, in view of the proved educational value of films dealing with the prevention and danger of venereal disease, he is prepared to take any steps to encourage the display of such films under proper conditions to the British Army, particularly upon foreign stations?

:Use has been made of these films for the Army both at home and abroad; but other methods of propaganda are considered more suitable to the special conditions of life in the Army.

asked the Secretary of State for War why the staff of the War Office has increased from 1,636 on 1st August 1914, to 4,311 on 1st March 1925, particularly in view of the reduction in the size of the Army; and on what work this extra staff is employed?

:The staff of the War Office on 1st August, 1914, was 1,590, and the comparable figure for 1st March 1925, was 2,385. The figure 4,311 quoted by the hon. Member for 1st March 1925, is not comparable because it includes besides the staff of the War Office itself, the non-industrial staffs of the Royal Ordnance Factories, Chelsea Hospital, the Royal Army Clothing Department and the Local Audit Offices. The increase of staff at the War Office as compared with 1914 is due to additional work arising out of the events and the consequences of the War, the reorganisation of the Army in the light of War experience, and permanent new work in connection with the development of the use of mechanical transport and the introduction of new types of munitions and war material, and of new services. The volume of correspondence received in the War Office to-day is 60 per cent. more than before the War.

asked the Minister of Pensions whether seeing that in the special identification form for persons in receipt of pensions from the Ministry of Pensions it is stated that, in accordance with the wishes of a Committee of the House of Commons, this special form is required to be completed for verification of the identity of the person in receipt of' the pension, who is hereby warned that payment of pension is liable to be suspended if the questions are not answered satisfactorily, he can say whether the form at present in use was approved by the Public Accounts Committee; whether he is aware that, in view of the difficulty of remembering actual dates of engagements, periods of service, and regimental numbers, the pensioners feel that the effect of the form might be, if statements did not quite agree with previous declarations, that they might lose their pensions; and whether in these circumstances, he will consider the desirability of modifying the form and removing the questions, as the Ministry already has full particulars?

:The form referred to was not literally approved by the Public Accounts Committee, but was framed on suggestions made by them. As is stated on the form, the sole object of it is to secure the identification of pensioners and to protect the Exchequer against personation. Any discrepancy discovered in replies given on the form would result in further investigation and pension would only be stopped if and when this investigation demonstrated that personation had taken place. I am not, however, satisfied that the terms employed in the form are not capable of improvement and I am taking steps to consider the modification of them.

asked the Prime Minister whether he can make a statement upon the Government's policy in relation to the Navy Estimates?

:I cannot add anything to the answer which I gave on the 28th April, in reply to a question by my hon. and gallant Friend the Member for Maidstone (Commander Bellairs).

asked the Secretary for Scotland the number of applications for small holdings which have been received since 1st January, 1919, and how many of these were ex-service men; how many applicants have been placed on small holdings; and how many of these are ex-service men?

:Since 1st January, 1919, 8,492 applications for new holdings and 1,794 for enlargements of existing holdings have been received by the Board, of which 6,922 and 360, respectively, were from ex-service men. During the same period new holdings have been allocated to 1,857 ex-service men and 303 others, and enlargements to 207 ex-service men and 846 others.

asked the Minister of Health whether his information shows that the provisions of the Statement of Rates Act, 1919, Chapter 31, are receiving general compliance in respect of properties to which they are applicable; and, if not, what steps he proposes to take to secure a greater knowledge of and compliance with the Act?

:I have no definite information as to the extent to which the requirements of the Act are at present complied with, but, as I indicated on the Second Reading of the Eating and Valuation Bill, I hope that under that Bill the objects of the Act referred to will be more generally attained.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies how many claims for pre-truce damage in Ireland are outstanding at the present date for settlement; and what is the total sum actually paid which arose in respect of pre-truce claims for criminal or malicious injuries in Southern Ireland?

:I regret that I am not in a position to furnish the information asked for in the first part of the question. In reply to the second part, the total amount paid by the Government of the Irish Free State (a proportion of which has been refunded to them by the British Government) in respect of criminal and malicious damage to property prior to truce is £5,777,832, exclusive of costs and interest. As regards criminal and malicious injuries to persons, each Government undertook to pay any compensation awarded to its own supporters and to accept half liability in respect of awards to neutrals. The amounts paid by His Majesty's Government under these heads amount to £2,253,034 and £219,646 respectively. I have no information as to the amounts paid by the Government of the Irish Free State.

asked the Postmaster General how many savings certificates were bought at the Post Office of West Bromwich and sub-district offices during the years 1922, 1923, 1924 and 1925; the number of certificates bought at the Bir- mingham Post Office and sub-district offices during the same period; and the average number per week in each case?

asked the Postmaster-General the amount of money collected for broadcast licences and the amount of the same paid to the British Broadcasting Company?

:The amount collected up to 31st March, 1925, was about £1,240,000, and the amount paid to the British Broadcasting Company to date is £622,000.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury how much profit was made from advertisements in telephone directories in 1924?

:The receipts from advertisements in the Post Office telephone directories issued in 1924 amounted to £88,355, after deducting the fees payable to the advertising agents.

asked the Postmaster-General if he is aware that persons handing in a radiogram at various Post Offices in the West Central district are informed by the clerks at the telegraph counter that the radiogram must first be taken to Marconi House to be marked which radio station it must be sent through; and will he consider the introduction of some method which will obviate this inconvenience and delay?

:The figures, so far as they are available, are as follow:

:The Post Office rules provide that a radio-telegram intended for transmission from a British wireless station may be handed in with an "open address," such as "Jones, Olympic, Wireless," the Post Office undertaking to send the message through the appropriate wireless station. If the hon. Member will furnish me with definite particulars of the case which he has in mind, I will make inquiry concerning the irregular treatment of the radio-telegram concerned.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer the financial year when male or female officials were first employed to act in Great Britain as whole-time, or approximately whole-time, pension officers under the Old Age Pensions Acts, and the number of such officers at the end of that year; the total cost allocable to that service or the service of pensions under the Blind Persons Act in Great Britain, of the salaries, including bonuses, etc., of such officers in that year and each subsequent year, and the number of such officers at the end of each year; the total cost in salaries, including bonuses, etc., so allocable during each financial year since 1907–08 of the whole of the staff in the Boards of Inland Revenue and Customs and Excise who were engaged on the administration of such pensions in Great Britain; and the total cost in all respects of such pensions (including additional pensions allowances) in Great Britain during those years, with details under the following heads: Pensions (as distinct from administration), Treasury, Board of Inland Revenue, Board of Customs and Excise, the late Local Government Board (England and Wales), Ministry of Health, the late Local Government Board (Scotland), Board of Health (Scotland), General Post Office, General Register Office (Births, Deaths, etc.), Local Pension Committees and Sub-Committees, and Miscellaneous?

:In reply to the first and second parts of the question, a class of women pension officers was first set up in the Customs and Excise Department during the financial year 1917–18 to act as whole-time pension officers in the administration of the Old Age Pensions Acts. The numbers of women pension officers employed in Great Britain at the end of that and subsequent years and their cost in salaries, including bonus, during those years are as follow:

Apart from the women pension officer staff, who are employed only in the larger towns, the duties of old age pension officer are performed by officers of Customs and Excise in conjunction with their Revenue duties. No officers of Customs and Excise have been employed whole-time or approximately whole-time on old age pensions work, except temporarily.

With regard to the third part of the question, the Excise Staff formed in 1908–9 part of the staff of the Inland Revenue Department, but no figures are available for the expenses of that staff attributable to the administration of old age pensions. On 1st April, 1909, the Excise Staff was transferred to the Board of Customs and Excise; here again no information exists for ascertaining the total cost in salaries prior to 1917–18. For the year 1917–18 and subsequent years the estimated cost in salaries and bonus of the whole of the Customs and Excise Staff (both whole-time and part-time), including Headquarters, in respect of Old Age Pensions work is as follows:

Separate figures for Great Britain are not available until 1922–23.

The information asked for in the last part of the question is given, so far as it is available in the following table. Owing to the facts that information in some cases is not available and in others is available only for the United Kingdom and not for Great Britain separately, it has not been possible to insert yearly totals in the table. No expenditure was incurred during the year 1907–08.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what additional annual expenditure would be involved by the removal of the present disqualification under the Old Age Pensions Act arising from earned income?

:The receipt of earned income is not at present a disqualification for the grant of an old age pension, but I presume my hon. and gallant Friend has in mind the extension to earnings of the deduction allowed in the case of income derived from any source other than earnings under the provisions of the Old Age Pensions Act, 1924. No information is available as to the cost of such extension.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury in how many Crown Colonies and Dependencies His Majesty's Government has approved the increase of pre-War pensions in respect of pensioners whose pension exceeds £200 per annum; what is the reason for granting such increases in these cases whilst excluding the pre-War pensioners of Great Britain; and whether he will undertake to introduce legislation that will ensure that those ex-servants of the State whose service has been rendered in the British Isles shall receive similar advantages?

:I understand that some 20 Colonies and Protectorates have increased pre-War pensions exceeding £200 per annum. I am not aware what are the reasons which actuated the various Governments concerned in these cases. As regards the last part of the question, I would refer the hon. Member to the answer which was given on 3rd March last

by the Chancellor of the Exchequer to the hon. Member for Peebles and the Southern Division of Midlothian (Mr. Westwood).

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer the amount received in respect of each loan issued between the 1st August, 1914, and the 31st March, 1919; the dates of issue and the internal purchasing power of the pound in comparison with its pre-War value at each such date; and the corresponding figure of internal purchasing power on the 31st March, 1925?

:The following statement gives the information desired. It will be observed that a very large part of the debt does not now exist in the form in which it was originally raised, having been either repaid or converted into other forms of debt:

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the increased amount that was payable to the Exchequer under Income Tax, Schedule A, in England and Wales, excluding London, for the year 1923–24 compared with the previous year; and what proportion of the increase was due to re-valuation of property for Income Tax purposes?

:I regret that, under the present system of graduation and differentiation of the Income Tax, with personal allowances, deductions and reliefs appurtenant not to the various sources of income charged under each Schedule, but to the total income of the taxpayer, I am unable to earmark any part of the total yield of the tax either to any one Schedule or to any particular factor affecting the measure of liability to tax. The approximate increase in the gross annual value for the purposes of Income Tax, Schedule A of lands, buildings, etc., in England and Wales (excluding the Metropolis), arising out of the re-assessment which came into force in 1923–24 is estimated at £42,000,000, representing an increase of about 20 per cent, on the gross annual value in force before the re-assessment. These statistics relate to the whole of the property chargeable under Schedule A in that area, including that in the ownership of persons not liable to Income Tax.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he is aware that the Income Tax forms, recently issued, are accompanied by four sheet notes and instructions (Form No. 12, Ins.); why these notices, which were specially issued for the year ending 5th April, 1926, did not contain reference to the allowances proposed in the last Budget; whether the Inland Revenue authorities had these forms prepared before the Budget had been propounded; and, if so, what was the cost of printing the same?

:The forms to which the hon. and gallant Member refers are necessarily issued at the beginning of the Income Tax year. It was in the nature of things quite impossible for them to contain references to the changes in the law which were proposed in my Budget speech but which will not become effective until the Finance Bill has received the Royal Assent. Information as to further allowances authorised by the Finance Act and any necessary instructions as to the procedure for claiming them will be given when the notices of assessment are issued later in the year. The cost of paper and printing was approximately £100.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury whether his attention has been called to the fact that letters have been issued by the solicitor's office of the Inland Revenue threatening proceedings if Super-tax due on the 5th April, 1925, is not paid within seven days' notice; whether he is aware that such letters have been sent in cases where Super-tax payers have already paid two instalments towards meeting the total bill; and if this policy has the approval of the Treasury?

:The hon. and gallant Member appears to be under some misapprehension in this matter. Super-tax is normally payable in one sum on the 1st January in the year of assessment, and the letter from the Solicitor of Inland Revenue, to which reference is made, is issued only in cases where at least three applications for payment have been made without result, and the tax is considerably overdue. It is not, however, the practice of the revenue authorities to refuse a reasonable postponement of the payment of taxes in individual cases of genuine and proved inability to meet the demands of the revenue at the dates prescribed. If the hon. and gallant Member has in mind any case in which a departure from this practice is alleged, and will let me have the necessary particulars, I will have the matter investigated, and communicate to him the result.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will give for the last 15 years the annual percentage cost of the Inland Revenue Department in proportion to the revenue obtained?

:I would refer the hon. Member to Table 4 of the 67th Report of the Commissioners of Inland Revenue (Cmd. 2227), which contains a detailed statement of the gross revenue collected by that Department, and the cost of services involved for the last 11 years. Similar details in respect of earlier years are contained in preceding Reports of the Commissioners.