asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether any advertisement-has been issued offering Sheerness dockyard for sale, or whether tenders are being invited for the purchase of the dockyard; and whether, in view of the proximity of the Kentish coalfields, the Government will consider the question of finding work for persons in the iron, steel and other industries by converting the dockyard into a coaling port similar to Blyth or Barry dock?

The answer is in the negative. I have not anything to add to my reply of the 16th December to the hon. Member for East Aberdeen (Mr. Boothby), except to say that the Admiralty would of course give their careful consideration to any favourable offer for leasing Sheerness dockyard.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether he is aware that a naval chaplain receives less pay than his brother officers and that many naval chaplains find themselves in debt, with an overdraft at the bank and their war savings gone, and that the low rates of pay mean a life of unfair labour for the chaplains concerned and their wives, with poor prospects for their children; and whether he can see his way to recommend that they should be given some increase?

Allowing for the recent reduction of 5½ per cent. which is applicable to all officers, the scale of pay of naval chaplains was settled in 1919 as representing a fair rate of remuneration, taking into account the conditions of service generally, and I regret that I am unable to recommend an increase.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty the number of Naval vessels and their gross tonnage which are furnished for burning oil fuel only, the number of vessels and their gross tonnage fitted for the burning of either coal or oil, and the number and gross tonnage of vessels fitted for the burning of coal only?

The figures are as follow:

Fitted for Burning		No.	Gross Tonnage
Oil Fuel only	…	301	668,000
Either Coal or Oil Fuel	…	26	176,000
Coal only	…	181	177,000

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty if he is aware that an ex-service foreman-of-works clerk serving in the civil engineer-in-chief's department at Devon-port Dockyard competed at the recent examination held in July last for Departmental clerkships and that, notwithstanding a favourable report from his local officers, he has been deemed ineligible for this position although he is, and has been since his entry in the Department, wholly employed on clerical work; and whether he can give any reasons why this forceman-of-works clerk, who is designated as a clerk and wholly engaged on clerical work, is not considered eligible?

Service in the grade of foreman-of-works clerk—which is an industrial one—does not fulfill the requirement of temporary service in a clerical post, which was one of the conditions of eligibility for the examination for clerks of the general and Departmental classes. Representations have been received in regard to the case referred to in the question, and these are being considered, but it should be stated that the final decision, which involves a question of interpretation of the Regulations, rests with the Civil Service Commissioners.

asked the Secretary of State for Air whether he will arrange in future Air Estimates for publication of detail of duties of Air Ministry civil as well as Service staff?

I can see no reason why the form of Air Estimates should differ in this respect from those of all other Government Departments, in none of which is it the practice, so far as I am aware, to show in detail the duties upon which the staff are engaged. Moreover, the inclusion of this detailed information would necessarily result in an increased expenditure on printing. In these circumstances, I regret that I do not see my way to adopt my hon. and gallant Friend's suggestion.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury (1) whether he would be prepared to allocate future vacancies in the Service to existing temporary women staff, as well as to young girls from outside; the Service; and whether he is aware that at the moment the women who have been temporarily employed for more than a decade have no opportunities whatever of becoming permanent employés, and are liable to dismissal by young girls at any moment;(2) whether he will endeavour to mitigate the unemployment among Government staffs by arranging that young girls are not brought into the Service on to work now being satisfactorily performed by adult women?

The hon. Member would appear to have been imperfectly informed as to the facts of the case. Liberal opportunities have been given since 1920 to women temporarily employed in the Civil Service to qualify for permanent appointment to women's posts, and a large number of such appointments have been and are being made from their ranks. I do not consider that it would be in the public interest that recruitment by open com- petition should be suspended. I may add that, as stated in my reply on the l5th December to the hon. Member for Bow and Bromley (Mr. Lansbury), I am now considering representations which have been made to me on the general question of providing a greater measure of permanent employment for women still temporarily employed.

asked the Minister of Health when the Necessitous Areas Committee will proceed to take evidence and receive applications for assistance from local authorities in necessitous areas; and will he see that local authorities in these areas are notified of the forms and methods of procedure necessary to bring their cases before the Committee?

I understand that the Committee have already made progress in the examination of schemes which have been submitted to them, and are about to receive evidence on one of the schemes. It is no part of their function to receive applications for assistance. I do not think that any further notification of the procedure necessary to bring schemes to the notice of the Committee is required.

asked the Minister of Labour the number of applicants at the Stratford and Canning Town Employment Exchanges who have been refused benefit during each month of the present year on the grounds that they were not genuinely seeking employment?

The following Table shows the number of applications for extended benefit during the period 12th January to 16th November, 1925, which have been recommended for disallowance by the Stratford and Canning Town Local Employment Committees on the ground that the applicants were not making every reasonable effort to obtain employment:

Period.	Number Disallowed.
	Startford.	Canning Town
1925.
12th Jan. to 9th Feb.	72	76
10th Feb. to 9th March	6l	106
10th March to 13th April	43	215
14th April to 11th May	78	105
12th May to 8th June	51	62
9th Jane to 13th July	59	78
14th July to 10th Aug	64	48
11th Aug. to 24th Aug	65	29
25th Aug. to 14th Sept.	76	37
15th Sept. to 12th Oct	55	46
13th Oct. to 16th Nov	79	57
Total	703	859

I am unable to state the number of applications for standard benefit which have been refused on the ground that the applicants were not genuinely seeking work.The total number of cases considered by the Stratford and Canning Town Committees during the period were 17,790 and 22,238 respectively.

asked the Minister of Labour if he will give the number of applicants to the Stratford Employment Exchange who have been refused benefit during each month of the present year on the grounds that they have not been employed for a reasonable period during the previous two years?

The following table shows the number of applications for extended benefit during the period 12th January to 16th November, 1925, which have been recommended for disallowance by the Stratford Local Employment Committee on the ground that the applicants have not had a reasonable period of insurable employment in the previous two years:

Period 1925.		Number disallowed.
12th Jan. to 9th Feb	…	195
10th Feb. to 9th March	…	277
10th March to 13th April	…	199
14th April to 11th May	…	172
12th May to 8th June	…	80

Period.1925.			Number disallowed.
9th June to 13th July	…	…	123
14th July to 10th Aug	…	…	302
11th Aug. to 24th Aug	…	…	147
25th Aug. to 14th Sept	…	…	204
15th Sept. to 12th Oct	…	…	305
13th Oct. to 16th Nov	…	…	705
Total	…	…	2,709

The total number of cases considered by the Committee during the period was 17,790.

asked the Minister of Labour why the Poplar unemployment insurance officers have refused unemployment pay to Mr. A. E. Palmer, of 19, Ordell Road, Bow; how long this man has paid into the fund: the amount of unemployment benefit he has received during that period; how long he was out of work before his claim for unemployment benefit was disallowed; and what evidence the committee had before it that this man was not genuinely seeking work.

I assume that the hon. Member refers to the case of Mr. A. Clarence Palmer. The claim to benefit made by this workman was disallowed by the insurance officer on the ground that he was not genuinely seeking work. The disallowance was confirmed by the Court of Referees (not the local employment committee) on appeal. Mr. Palmer, who is 19 years of age, has paid 171 contributions since January. 1922, and has drawn benefit in respect of 118 days. He lost his last employment on 29th August, and his claim to unemployment benefit was disallowed as from 24th September. The evidence before the Court consisted of the claimant's own statements as to his search for work.

asked the Minister of Health whether he will inform the House how many slum clearance schemes have been presented since December last to the Ministry, how many slum areas have been improved, how many schemes are in actual operation, and how many have been completed?

Ten schemes have been submitted since December, 1924, and of these three have been confirmed. Some progress has been made in the purchase of the property scheduled under these three schemes, but detailed information is not yet available.

asked the Minister of Health how many houses have been commenced and how many have been completed by rural district councils under the Housing Acts of 1923 and 1924; and if he is satisfied that the present rate of building is adequate to overtake the demand?

9,659 houses have been commenced and 4,934 completed by rural district councils under the Housing Acts of 1923 and 1924. The numbers commenced and completed respectively by private enterprise in rural districts are 42,495 and 31,346. The output of new houses has considerably increased since the passing of the Act of 1923; and my right hon. Friend is satisfied that it is now sufficient to cover the needs of the normal annual increase of population and to make a substantial contribution towards meeting arrears of building. I may add that the Government are giving very careful consideration to the rural housing problem.

asked the Minister of Health whether he can provide figures showing the number of persons now living in legally overcrowded conditions, and the number of persons living in houses which have been condemned by local authorities as unfit for human habitation, either for the whole country or in typical sample cities and rural districts?

My right hon. Friend regrets that he is unable to furnish statistics on the matters referred to by the hon. Member.

asked the Minister of Health whether he has issued a circular to the boards of guardians as to how to destroy lice and to prevent casual wards from becoming verminous; and, if not, will he inquire as to the best known methods, and then issue such a circular?

A memorandum on this subject was issued by the Local Government Board in 1919 and placed on sale at His Majesty's Stationery Office, where it may be obtained.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer on what date the pension officer, under the Old Age Pensions Acts, 1908 to 1924, received the claim (22/9/1924) of Eva L. M. de Wilton, then of 73, Warwick Street, London, S.W.1; on what date the pension officer began to investigate the claim; on what date or dates the pension officer wrote asking for a valuation of the claimant's property in the Irish Free State; the exact designation of the official of the Imperial Government and/or the official of the Government of the Irish Free State, and/or the exact designation of any other person to whom the pension officer so wrote; the respective dates on which such letter or letters of the pension officer was or were replied to and received by the pension officer; the date on which the pension officer completed his (or her) investigation of the claim; the date on which the pension officer reported his (or her) completed investigation to the local pensions sub-committee; whether, at any stage or stages, there was any undue delay on the part of any Government official or Government agent in dealing with the claim or any point thereon; if so, who was the official or agent who so delayed; and what action has he taken, or will he take, towards preventing any undue delay in any future similar circumstances?

This matter is still under investigation, and I will communicate with my hon. and gallant Friend as soon as the inquiries are complete.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether, seeing that the Treaty of Versailles prescribed that not less than two-thirds of the reparation coal deliveries to Italy should be land-borne, he will say whether this stipulation has ever been enforced; whether it is now being enforced; and, if not, will he take steps to see that it is enforced in the future?

The original Treaty provision was strictly complied with in 1920, when approximately 76 per cent. of the total Italian coal deliveries on reparation account were land-borne. It has not been complied with in subsequent years. During the years 1921, 1922 and 1923, the deficiency of land-borne deliveries was not very considerable, about 57 per cent. of the total deliveries being land-borne; but during the later stages of the Ruhr occupation, the occupying authorities reserved to themselves the right to vary the methods of delivery, and in 1924 the percentage of coal sent by land to Italy fell to 28 per cent. The Treaty limitation has been equally inoperative in 1925, as since March, 1925, the bulk of the reparation coal taken by Italy has been delivered under a commercial contract drawn up under the Regulations for Deliveries in Kind made in pursuance of the London Agreement of August, 1924. These Regulations provide that such commercial contracts may include any provisions agreed between the Allied Governments concerned and the German Government as to, inter a/ia, method and place of delivery and transport to the place of delivery. The question whether the limitation laid down in the Treaty, as to the proportion of land-borne deliveries, can be construed as overriding these Regulations has never been formally considered by the Reparation Commission; but His Majesty's Government were advised that the Treaty limitation could not be regarded as applicable to deliveries made under commercial contract. Accordingly, the British delegation on the Reparation Commission raised no objection to the contract, but formally reserved the right of His Majesty's Government, in the event of a return to the Treaty procedure, to insist on the proportion of land-borne and sea-borne deliveries laid down in the Treaty.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he is aware that Italy is receiving 3,000,000 tons of coal per annum from Germany on account of reparations, and that her imports from this country are proportionately diminished; and whether he will take account of the saving in the normal sterling requirements of Italy in negotiating any settlement of the Italian debt?

The answer to both parts of the question is in the affirmative.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the debts of Italy to this country are secured, in whole or in part, on Italy's reparation receipts; what is the total amount of these reparation receipts up to date; and why no steps have been taken to secure payment of at least this amount on account of the Italian debt?

In 1919 £30 millions of the loans made to Italy by this country were secured by a charge on Italy's first receipts from reparation subject to a pari passu charge given to the United States of America in respect of loans made by them at the same time. The total amount of Italy's reparation receipts up to date is approximately £24 millions. As regards the last part of the question, it has seemed preferable to aim at a complete settlement of Italy's war debt (which I hope will be achieved within the next few weeks) rather than to deal separately with this single item of £30 millions.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the Italian Government has accepted the principle that any payment made in respect of its debt to the United Spates of America will be executed pari passu with proportionate payments to this country: if so, whether he is aware that the Italian Government has made payment of 5,000,000 dollars to the United States in respect of their war debt, what is the proportionate amount payable to this country, and whether he will secure the payment of this sum before the end of this year?

The principle referred to in the first part of the question has been frequently stated to be an essential point in the policy of His Majesty's Government for dealing with inter-Allied debts, and I should be reluctant to think that it will be contested by any of our Allies. I understand that the Italian Government made an advance payment of 5,000,000 dollars to the United States Government on completion of their funding agreement with that Government. I expect to discuss the payment of the Italian debt to this country with the Italian Finance Minister early next month.