asked the Secretary of State for Scotland the number of new schools which are to be built during the current year in Glasgow, and the number, if any, to be demolished?

One new school has already been completed in Glasgow during the current year; five are under construction, in addition to two new infant departments; and it is expected that the building of a number of others will be begun. I am not aware of any proposal to demolish schools.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he is aware that the Greenside Street School, situated on the south side of Glasgow, has long been marked for demolition; that it is still being used as a school; and if he has information as to a new school to be built?

I am aware that the education authority are alive to the desirability of closing Greenside Street School, which is admittedly an unsatisfactory building, although it is still being used as a school. The question of its closure is part of the general problem of school supply which is at present under discussion between the authority and the Department.

asked the Minister of Transport why he has agreed to give a grant of 25 per cent. to a new by-pass road to a central county quarry at Trap- rain Law, in Haddingtonshire, in view of the fact that there are already existing quarries adequate to the supply of all the local needs of the district?

I am not aware of any proposal to construct a new by-pass road at Traprain Law, in Haddingtonshire. My hon. Friend probably refers to a scheme undertaken by the Western District Committee of East Lothian County Council for the widening and re-surfacing of the Haddington-Traprainlaw-East Linton Road, towards the cost of which a grant of 25 per cent. has been made from the Road Fund. The road has a length of about six miles and carries a considerable amount of through traffic. It was on these grounds that assistance was given for its improvement.

asked the Minister of Agriculture the number and acreage of allotments in England and Wales; the proportion provided by local authorities and private owners, respectively; and whether the numbers are increasing or diminishing?

The Returns received from allotment authorities for the year ended 31st December, 1926, have been tabulated, but it will be some time before the results are published. The total number of allotments in England and Wales, including railway allotments, is roughly 1,079,000, and the area about 164,000 acres. About 48 per cent. of the number and 42 per cent. of the acreage are provided by local authorities and the remainder by private owners direct. I am glad to say that the somewhat rapid but not unexpected decline in allotments that set in after 1920 has been almost arrested. The area owned by local authorities, as distinct from the land leased by them, shows an increase.

asked the President of the Board of Trade how many ship-owners have been found blameworthy and culpable in 1925–26 for the loss of ships through overloading; and how many lives have been lost through the sinking of such ships?

The only case of the kind in 1925, 1926 and 1927, is the case of the "Eastway" which foundered in October, 1926, 22 lives being lost. The Court of Inquiry, which reported on 22nd April, 1927, found that the conduct of the registered manager was blameworthy and culpable.

asked the Home Secretary whether he will state the balance remaining in the relief and reward branches of the constabulary force fund of the late Royal Irish Constabulary; and whether this fund can now be wound up and the balance in hand utilised to assist widows and orphans of deceased subscribers and to augment the pre-War pensions of ex-members of the Royal Irish Constabulary?

The relief and reward branches of the constabulary force fund have been amalgamated, and on the 31st March last the assets of the fund amounted to approximately £282,500. The object of the fund is to provide benefits for the widows and children of subscribers on the subscriber's death. No new subscribers have been admitted for many years and as the existing subscribers die the fund is in process of being wound up; but any scheme for the immediate distribution of the assets would be contrary to the interests of the widows and orphans for whose benefit the fund was intended.

asked the Home Secretary whether he will give the names of the petty sessional divisions in which no probation officer has been appointed under Part I of the Criminal Justice Act, 1925?

The information will be given in the revised register of Probation Officers which it is hoped will be issued in the course of this summer.

asked the Postmaster-General whether he is aware that throughout the Highlands of Scotland, where the postal facilities are sparse and newspapers are late of delivery, scarce, and costly, the general news given over the wireless was of great advantage to the people; whether he is aware that Glasgow has dropped the general news from its programme: and whether he will take steps to see that the transmitting stations all supply outlying parts with general news every evening?

I understand that general news bulletins are broadcast every evening from all broadcasting stations and that the only change made is in regard to the broadcasting of local news. As I explained in reply to a question by the hon. Member for Dundee on 17th May, this is a matter within the responsibility of the British Broadcasting Corporation, which, I have no doubt, will consider any representations made to it on the subject.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury what was the first date upon which a woman clerical officer received her appointment as a result of the Lytton limited competition of 1920; and what was the first date upon which a woman clerical officer was appointed from this examination in the Post Office?

The answer to both parts of the question is 26th May, 1921.

asked the Minister of Pensions the number of officials and subordinate staff engaged upon the administration of pensions of pre-War pensioners of the fighting forces, and widows and dependants; and the total cost annually of the work involved as apart from the annual cost of the pensions?

There are 19 officers who devote the whole of their time and a number of officers who give only a part (and mostly a small part) of their time to the work in question. The estimated total cost annually of this staff is £4,200.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what were the amounts of Super-tax and Income Tax owing to the Treasury at the end of the financial years 1924–25, 1925–26, and 1926–27.

The following are the latest estimates of the amounts of Income Tax and Super-tax in respect of which demands for payment had been issued but which had not been paid, at the 31st March, 1925, 1926, and 1927, respectively:

asked the Secretary for Mines in what mines, and to what extent, mechanical haulage has been substituted for pit ponies for the 12 months ended to the last convenient date?

Precise information is not readily available, but about 4,000 fewer horses were employed in 1926 than in 1925. In part, no doubt, these horses were displaced by mechanical forms of haulage.