asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether he is aware of the concern felt among the officers of the writer branch at Devonport of the Royal Navy by the non-filling of a vacancy for the rank of paymaster-lieutenant, which became due, owing to a retirement, on the 7th February last, and the consequent promotion of a warrant writer to commissioned writer and a chief petty officer writer to warrant writer; whether he is aware that this concern is all the more acute since, under the reduction scheme of August, 1922, officers of the writer branch were penalised owing to the fact that the number of officers authorised with this branch of the Service were not kept complete in April, 1921; and whether he will arrange that the vacancy be filled, seeing that if one promotion is dropped three persons are penalised?

This matter is still under consideration.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty (1) seeing that the mackintosh and oilskin have now been made compulsory items of kit, and that the price of the mackintosh is 26s. 3d. and the oilskin 24s., and their average life is three years, whether the annual upkeep allowance of Classes 1 and 3 and Class 2 will be increased by 9s. and 8s., respectively, in accordance with the principles governing upkeep allowance;(2) with reference to a recent Fleet Order making mackintoshes and oilskins a compulsory item of kit, whether those men who have had to provide mackintoshes at their own expense will receive a proportionate allowance in lieu of these articles if already in their possession?

The answer is in the negative. A mackintosh or oilskin has been included in the free kit issued to new entries since October, 1917, and the rates of kit upkeep allowance paid since that date have included a sum for their upkeep.

asked the Postmaster-General when the building of the new Tottenham Post Office will be commenced?

Provision for the commencement of this building has been made in the Revenue Buildings Estimates for 1926–1927, and, subject to Parliamentary sanction, the work will be put in hand during the coming financial year.

asked the Home Secretary the amount of money received from Parliamentary candidates at by-elections since 1st July, 1925, owing to their failure to poll the requisite number of votes for the return of their deposits, and the number of candidates involved?

The forfeited deposits received in respect of by-elections since 1st July, 1925, are as follow:

asked the Secretary of State for War how many men in the British Army hold the Army qualification of dispenser; and how many of these Army dispensers are actually employed at the present time in dispensing duties?

The number of soldiers serving in the Royal Army Medical Corps who hold the Army qualification of dispenser is 552, of whom 193 are employed on dispensing duties.

asked the Secretary of State for War how many soldiers presented themselves at the examination held during 1925 for the qualification of Army dispenser; and how many of these candidates failed to pass the examination?

The total number of soldiers who presented themselves during 1925 for the examination in question was 221, of whom 84 failed to pass.

asked the Minister of Health if he is aware of the dissatisfaction which exists in the district of Little Stanmore, owing to the unsatisfactory way in which the houses built with Government subsidy, on the Chandos Estate, are being let by the Rural District Council of Hendon, Middlesex; and whether he will cause inquiries to be made into the matter with a view to removing the grievance?

I have received representations as to the allocation of the houses provided by the district council on this estate and have been in communication with the council who have assured me that they always endeavour to give preference in the letting of the houses to the most deserving applicants, having regard amongst other things to service in His Majesty's Forces. The administration, management and control of the houses provided by local authorities under the Housing Acts are by the express terms of the Act vested in the local authorities. I do not think that I can properly intervene further in this matter.

asked the Minister of Health whether he is now able to state the number of orders of admission to the workhouse offered and issued to ex-service men by the West Derby Board of Guardians (Liverpool) during the last six months?

I hope to be able to send the hon. Member this information at a very early date.

asked the Minister of Labour how many unemployed men and women, respectively, have completed their period of training; how many are now being trained; what number of additional males and females it is anticipated will have completed their training during the next 12 months; and what difficulties are there in the way of providing facilities for the training of additional numbers?

About 29,200 women have passed through the training centres for unemployed women. The number now in training is 1,820 and the number who will complete courses during the next 12 months is estimated at 3,500. The full course of training under the scheme for young unemployed men is one of six months. The first Centre was opened on the 20th October, 1925; the first course therefore has not yet been completed, but 255 men have left before the end of their course in order to take up employment. The number now in training is 1,016. It is anticipated that during the next 12 months not. less than 2,200 men will receive courses of training. The scheme is an experiment, and it is not at present proposed to provide additional facilities. The figures given above do not include ex-service men trained under the Industrial Training Scheme, under which on 16th March, 1926, 2,227 men were in training, 97,192 had completed training (exclusive of those trained under the Ministry of Pensions before August, 1919) and 214 were awaiting training.

asked the Minister of Labour how many disabled ex-service men in Norwich have been struck off unemployment pay under the two-year limit rule during 1924 and 1925, respectively; and to what extent the rule is being relaxed in the case of disabled ex-service men at the present time?

I regret that the figures asked for are not available. The hon. and gallant Member will be aware that I have no power under the Acts to relax the rule in question. The rule itself, however, contemplates that due regard should be had to all the circumstances of the particular case in deciding whether the period of insurable employment within the last two years has been reasonable. I have no reason for supposing that the circumstances of disabled men are not properly taken into account, but I shall be very glad to inquire into any case where it is thought that injustice has been done to a disabled ex-service man, if particulars are furnished.