asked the President of the Board of Education if he will state the amount of the additional annual cost involved to the Exchequer and local rates by the extension of the school age?

I may refer the hon. and gallant Member to the answer which I gave a week ago to the hon. Member for Heywood and Radcliffe (Colonel England), of which I am sending him a copy.

asked the President of the Board of Education if he will state the number of boys and girls, respectively, who will be retained at school and who, but for the extension of the school age, would be leaving school at the date on which the extension comes into force in the year 1931?

It is estimated that the number of children who would leave school immediately after the 1st April, 1931, but for the extension of the school-leaving age would be between fifteen and twenty thousand, and that this number would rise to 401,000 by the end of the ensuing 12 months. The figures may be divided between boys and girls in, approximately, equal proportions.

asked the President of the Board of Education if, in connection with the construction of extra buildings necessitated by the raising of the school-leaving age, he proposes to make building grants both to denominational organisations as well as to public authorities?

I am sending the hon. Member a copy of the answer which I gave to a similar question on the 31st October last.

asked the President of the Board of Education in how many cases during the previous 12 months the Board have approved proposals for playing-fields attached to elementary schools; and can he say what action the Board is taking towards increasing these facilities or making them available for elementary school children?

During the year ended October 31st last, the Board approved, approximately, 200 sites for playing-fields for individual schools, and 20 sites for groups of schools. In regard to the second part of my hon. Friend's question, I propose shortly to issue a pamphlet on this subject.

asked the President of the Board of Education if he is aware that the Portsmouth Junior Technical School is, and has been for over 10 years, housed in several buildings widely separated; and whether he proposes to call the attention of the Portsmouth local educational authority to the matter?

I am aware of the abnormal conditions under which this school is at present housed, and the question of its future will be borne in mind when the authority's proposals for the re-organisation of their schools are received.

asked the President of the Board of Education what balances now stand to the credit of the Miners' Relief Fund; whether payments are at present being made from the Fund or, if not, when he anticipates that they will be resumed; and whether it is estimated that the Fund will last over the present winter?

I am informed that the balance in the hands of the Central Committee at the present moment is £258,000. Grants were made last month to all mining areas aggregat- ing £369,000, to which should be added the balances in hand in those areas amounting to, approximately, £50,000. Further grants will be made in the New Year, and I am informed that the Local Committees of the Fund will be in a position to continue their operations through the present winter.

asked the Secretary for Mines whether his attention has been called to any cases of pressure being brought to bear upon miners to remain at work underground for a period longer than that allowed by law; and whether he will take steps to prevent this practice?

I have received complaints that the law relating to underground hours in mines is not being observed. All such complaints are investigated by His Majesty's Inspectors of Mines and steps are taken for ensuring that the law shall be observed.

asked the Secretary for Mines when the Report of the findings of the colliery disaster at Milfraen, Blaenavon, will be isued?

I expect to be able to publish this Report one day next week.

asked the Secretary of State for India if he will give information in regard to the progress made in the establishment of the civil aerodrome at Rangoon?

Provision for the establishment of this aerodrome has been made in the Budget of the current financial year, and it is expected to be ready for use not later than March next.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he can state the number of lascar or other than white British subjects engaged on ships registered in Great Britain; and the number of British seamen who are now unemployed?

The number of lascars (i.e., Asiatics and East Africans, whether of British or foreign nationality, employed under agreements for natives of Asia or East Africa which open and terminate in Asia) employed on 31st March, 1928, in sea-going vessels registered in Great Britain and Northern Ireland, under Part I of the Merchant Shipping Act, 1894, was 52,445. Separate information regarding coloured British subjects employed is not available. The number of British seamen unemployed is not recorded. On 21st October, 1929, the number of wholly unemployed seamen—whether British or foreign—aged 18 years or over, on the registers of Employment Exchanges in Great Britain was 17,685.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if his attention has been called to the amalgamation of two large margarine companies, the share capital of which is to be increased from £4,100,000 to £11,600,000; and if he will state whether he is satisfied that the amalgamated company is not overcapitalised?

I have seen statements in the Press that the ordinary share capital of Lever Brothers, Limited, and the share capital of the Margarine Union, Limited, are to be amalgamated, and that in this connection the Margarine Union propose to increase their authorised capital. I am unable to express any opinion on the point raised in the second part of the question.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether, owing to the financial situation in America and the difficulty in disposing of 1,000,000 surplus motor-cars, any steps will be taken to prevent them being dumped on the Britsih market to the ruination of the British motor industry?

I would refer the hon. and gallant Member to the reply I gave on 26th November to the hon. Member for Gravesend (Mr. Albery).

asked the President of the Board of Trade the amount and value of British-made morphine, morphine salts, and heroin

Information as to the value of the exports is not available. Particulars of the countries to which the drugs were exported, and the amounts exported to each, would be too voluminous to be given within the limits of the answer, but I am sending the hon. Member copies of the British Report to the League of Nations for the last two years, where he will find full details.

asked the Minister of Pensions whether he is aware that a large number of ex-service men who suffer from tuberculosis, and are certified as unfit for work, are not entitled to treatment allowances unless actually in a sanatorium; and whether he can make treatment allowances payable to all such cases while they are certified as unfit for work?

The allowances referred to are payable only during a specific course of medical treatment under the conditions laid down in the Royal Warrant, and I should have no authority to make them payable otherwise for any period of incapacity, as such, as suggested by my hon. Friend.

exported each year from 1925 to 1928; to which countries such exports were consigned; and in what amounts?

I have been asked to reply to this question. The total exports were as follows:

asked the Minister of Pensions if his attention has been called to the recent cases of wounded ex-service men becoming temporarily insane; and whether the regulations provide for any sort of periodical examination of these men if melancholic tendencies are suspected?

I am not aware of the cases which the hon. and gallant Member has in mind. With regard to the last part of the question, in any case where symptoms of the kind referred to were manifested as the result of a War injury, treatment would be given or other appropriate action taken by the Ministry.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether having regard to the circumstance that owing to the inadequacy of the pensions paid to many naval, Army, and police pensioners, they are compelled to supplement their incomes by engaging in occupations already overcrowded, and in view of the large number of unemployed persons in this country, His Majesty's Government will consider the desirability of increasing the pensions payable to such naval, Army, and police pensioners so that they may be able to live without work?

No, Sir. I am not prepared to sanction an improvement of the scales of pension now in force.

asked the Prime Minister whether he will set up a committee representing all parties to consider and report upon the question of Ministerial salaries?

The answer is in the affirmative, and I would suggest that the committee should take the report of the Committee of 1920 and consider whether it requires any modification in the light of the circumstances of to-day.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he can state

, asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether any person having special knowledge of the valuation of land in Wales and who is acquainted with the Welsh language has been appointed as a member of the panel of persons who act as official arbitrators for the purposes of the Acquisition of Land (Assessment of Compensation) Act, 1919, as required by Section 1 of that Act?

The answer is in the negative.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he is aware

the total number of rating authorities in Scotland in 1914 and 1929; the total amount of their capital borrowings; and the interest paid for each of those and the intervening years?

The number of authorities in Scotland having power to levy rates either directly or by requisition was 2,193 in 1914 and 1,269 in 1929. As regards the second part of the question, the following table gives the particulars of the loans raised for all purposes (including revenue-producing undertakings) and the interest paid by these authorities during the years ended 15th May, 1914 to 1926 inclusive. The corresponding information for the years 1927 to 1929 inclusive is not available.

that in July, 1914, many persons entrusted to the banks of Great Britain on current account golden sovereigns; that by legislation and Orders in Council the banks were temporarily relieved of the obligation to return this gold to their depositors; that there is now only a right to obtain £400 worth of bar gold; whether he can state in whom the property in the golden sovereigns' currency circulating in 1914 now rests; and whether the banks have appropriated those sovereigns?

I cannot follow the description of events given in the question. The facts are that the whole of the profits derived from the substitution of notes for sovereigns went to the Exchequer but that bank depositors and others have nevertheless the use of a currency which is kept at exact parity with gold. The property in the value of the sovereigns surrendered in 1914 was not transferred to the banks.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the latest estimate before the Government as to the cost of the State of purchasing the royalties on minerals?

I cannot add to the reply I gave to the hon. and gallant Member on the 16th July last.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether, seeing that as a result of the reversion to the gold standard £5,000,000,000 lent to the nation is now worth £2,500,000,000, he will discontinue paying interest at the inflated value?

I assume that my hon. Friend intended to put his figures the other way round and I am answering the question on this basis. The present debt represents money lent to the Government at different times and in many different conditions. Substantial amounts were borrowed when the value of the pound was greater, in some cases much greater, than it is now. But larger amounts were borrowed when the value of the pound was less than its present value. For reasons such as the numerous conversions which have taken place and the absence of any entirely valid index of comparison, it is impossible to give any accurate estimate of the alteration in the intrinsic value of the holdings since the dates of issue, but it is clearly a great deal smaller than is represented in my hon. Friend's question. Some estimates are given in Appendix XXV to the Colwyn Report on National Debt and Taxation (Command Paper 2800), but although the basis on which they have been compiled is better than many, for the reasons I have stated it is impossible to arrive at precise results.

I would also remind my hon. Friend that a substantial part of the debt is held by the United States Government, Government Departments, insurance companies, joint stock companies of all kinds, foreigners, charities, Friendly Societies, Trades Unions, etc.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of the total estimated national revenue for the current year will be absorbed in payment of War Loan interest and the proportion absorbed in the various social services?

The estimated expenditure in the current year on the payment of interest on internal debt created since the beginning of the Great War represents approximately 31 per cent. of the estimated gross revenue, but a very substantial proportion of these payments is made to Government Departments, foreigners, trusts, charities, &c, and not to individuals. The estimated expenditure from Parliamentary Votes and Grants on social services, including the estimated additional expenditure under the Unemployment Insurance Bill is approximately 23 per cent. of the estimated gross revenue.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer the dates of the principal issues of British Government securities now outstanding between 4th August, 1914, and 31st December, 1919; the amount of each issue; and the rate of dollar exchange at the time of each issue?

The right hon. and gallant Member will perhaps consider whether Appendix XXV to the Colwyn Report (Command Paper 2800) does not give him the information he desires. I can see no advantage in substituting the rate of dollar exchange for the Statist's index of wholesale prices used in that appendix, nor indeed, as I explain in my reply to-day to a question by the hon. Member for Salford North, has any such calculation much validity.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will state the amounts of the various issues of War Loans between July, 1914, and November, 1918; and if he will give the index figure showing the cost of living at the time of each issue as compared with that in 1914?

I would refer the hon. Member to Appendix XXV to the Report of the Committee on National Debt and Taxation, published in 1927, Command Paper 2800.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether it is the policy of the Government to reduce the present liabilities of the Exchequer with regard to war loan, either in respect of capital or interest?

I would refer the hon. Member to the oral answer which I have given to-day in reply to a number of similar questions.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury if the Government still adheres to the Resolution of the House of Commons of 5th August, 1921, with regard to equal pay in the Civil Service?

The Resolution referred to says "that having regard to the present financial condition of the country, this House cannot commit itself to the increase in Civil Service salaries involved in the payment of women in all cases at the same rate as men; but that the question of the remuneration of women as compared with men shall be reviewed within a period not exceeding three years." I would remind the hon. Member that the existing differentiation between the rates and scales of remuneration payable respectively to men and women civil servants is one of the questions to which the attention of the Royal Commission on the Civil Service is specifically directed by their terms of reference.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury how many civil servants have been discharged for redundancy in the last two years; how many of these have served for 20 years or more; and what is the compensatory payment made in all of these cases for termination of their work at an age when it is almost impossible to find openings for their activity?

Ninety-eight established civil servants were dis- charged through redundancy in the calendar year 1928. 94 of these had served for over 20 years. The corresponding figures for the first 10 months of the calendar year 1929 are 48 and 34. The compensation allowances awarded to these officers were computed in accordance with the provisions of the Superannuation Acts by reference to length of service and final salary.

asked the Minister of Health if he can state the numbers of additional staff which it is estimated will be required in the Ministry of Health to carry out the additional work in connection with the extension of Widows', Orphans', and Old Age Contributory Pensions Bill?

Additional staff to the number of approximately 650 will, it is estimated, be required for this work.

asked the Minister of Health whether any increase in the staffs of his Department is anticipated as a result of the Widows', Orphans', and Old Age Contributory Pensions Bill, and, if so, to what extent; whether the chief inquiries under this Measure are carried out by the employés of the Customs and Excise; and, if so, to what extent?

I anticipate an increase of approximately 650 officers for work arising under the Bill. In view of the very large number of personal inquiries which will be necessary in the limited time available, I have made arrangements with the Board of Customs and Excise whereby the services of their outdoor officers will, in conjunction with the outdoor staff of my own Department, be available for the investigation of claims made under Clause 1 of the Bill.

asked the Minister of Health if he will state the number of houses built since 1918 under the successive Housing Acts by the various councils in the Metropolitan area?

Following is the answer:

asked the Minister of Health if he can state the average contract prices of parlour and non-parlour houses during each of the last six months?

I would refer the hon. Baronet to the reply given to a question on the subject by the right hon. Gentleman the Member for West Wool-which (Sir K. Wood) on the 1st instant, in which the required figures for the five months from May to September last are set out. The comparable figures for October are: Parlour houses, £419; non-parlour houses, £344.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury if he will state the amount building societies have loaned to enable people to own houses; and if he has any information on this point in regard to trade unions such as the Amalgamated Engineering Union?

The Chief Registrar of Friendly Societies informs me that information as to the amount advanced on mortgage by building societies is available only from 1901. From that year to the end of 1928 the total amount advanced was £522,384,575. It is known that a very large proportion of the advances have been made in order to enable people to own houses, but the Returns furnished to the Registrar do not discriminate as to the purposes for which advances are made. No general information with regard to trade unions is available.

asked the Minister of Health whether any representations have been made to him by the Southwark Borough Council in respect to the overcrowding existing in that borough; and whether any steps can be taken to expedite measures for the relief of the present housing situation in South-East London generally?

The answer to the first part of the question is in the negative. The London County Council are carrying out a large programme for relieving the housing shortage in the county generally, including a number of schemes for providing housing accommodation in the inner parts of London; the legislation which I propose to introduce shortly will, I hope, make it easier to relieve the congestion in Southwark and similar densely populated areas.

asked the Minister of Health whether he will give the names of areas where stone-breaking or stone-shifting or stone-sifting are in operation as test work?

I would refer the hon. Member to the answer which I gave to the hon. and gallant Member for Hackney, North (Captain Hudson) on the 14th November. The first union referred to is Bootle, and the second Dover.

asked the Minister of Health whether he can state the proportion of British-grown wheat and British-bred and slaughtered meat which is supplied to the various institutions over which he has control; and whether he will consider the possibility of giving instructions that during the six months from October to March only British-grown flour and British-bred and slaughtered meat shall be supplied to the personnel of such institutions, and a similar suggestion made to the various local authorities whose institutions are in any way dependent on funds supplied from the Treasury?

As regards the first part of the question, I regret that no information is available. As regards the second part, I have no power to issue instructions of the nature suggested.

asked the Minister of Health if he can state the number of casual wards in England and Wales and the number in which smoking is permitted to the inmates?

There are 475 casual wards in England and Wales. I have no information on the point raised in the second part of the hon. and gallant Member's question.

asked the Minister of Health if he can make any statement as to the progress of the work of its Radium Commission?

The Radium Trust and the Radium Commission are not appointed by me but are constituted by Royal Charter. Article 9 of the Charter requires the Commission in each year to lay before the Trust an annual report of their work, including the audited financial statement for the past year; and a copy must be furnished to the Treasury, if they so direct, by the Trust for presentation to Parliament.

asked the Minister of Health if his attention has been called to the grievance of mental nurses that they are not registered, in spite of the fact that the Royal Medico-Psychological Association issue certificates that they are fully trained; and if he will take steps to see that this grievance is removed?

I am aware that the possession of the certificates mentioned in the first part of the question does not in itself entitle the holders to admission to the register kept under the Nurses Registration Act, 1919. The matter is one which in my opinion should not be incapable of adjustment between the bodies primarily concerned.

asked the Minister of Health what are the estimated annual amounts by which occupiers of agricultural land and buildings in each of the following counties will benefit through the provisions of the Local Government Act, 1929: Buckinghamshire, Cornwall, Cumberland and Westmorland, Devonshire, Durham, Herefordshire, Hertfordshire, Huntingdon and Bedfordshire, Lancashire, Leicester and Rutland, Middlesex, Monmouthshire, Northants, Oxfordshire, Somerset, Suffolk, Staffordshire, Sussex, Wiltshire, Warwickshire, Yorkshire, East, West, and North Ridings, Carmarthenshire, Carnarvon and Anglesea, Denbigh and Flint, Glamorgan, Merioneth and Montgomery, Pembroke, Cardigan, Radnor, Brecon, Gloucestershire, Lindsey and Kesteven, Lines, Holland, Dorset, and Northumberland?

The particulars are being compiled and will be circulated in the OFFICIAL REPORT at an early date.

asked the Minister of Health what is the sum paid annually by local authorities for the salaries of clerks and other members of their clerical staffs; how much is spent on office expenditure, upkeep of board rooms, etc., fees for certificates in lunacy cases, and other miscellaneous administrative expenses common to both institutional and domiciliary relief, each item separately, and giving in the case of the staff the number of male and female officials?

The returns furnished by my Department do not distinguish the sums paid by all local authorities for the salaries of their clerical staffs, but the terms of the question suggest that the information desired relates to Poor Law authorities. The following statement shows the general administrative expenditure of Poor Law authorities in England and Wales during the year ended 31st March, 1928:

Information as to the number of male and female officials of Poor Law authorities is not available.

asked the Minister of Health whether, in view of the changes in local government which will take place when the new Local Government Act comes into operation, he is considering the desirability of suggesting to the smaller local authorities whether it would be to their advantage or otherwise to unite; and what is the general policy of his Department on the subject?

I will send the hon. Member a copy of a memorandum on the general subject which has been sent to all District Councils as well as County Councils.

asked the Minister of Health how many defectives are being administered under the Mental Deficiency Act and what is the cost to the local authorities and to the Exchequer; what is the cost of the institutions directly under the administration of the Board of Control and to what extent do local authorities contribute; and how many defectives are there under treatment at these institutions?

The total number of defectives maintained in institutions or under guardianship at the joint charge of local authorities and the Exchequer on the 1st January, 1929, was 20,359 and there were 19,606 under supervision. The total cost for the year ended on the 31st March, 1929, was £1,216,820. Of this expenditure £607,301 is borne by local authorities and £609,519 by the Exchequer. In addition a relatively small number of defectives was maintained in institutions or under guardianship at the sole charge of local authorities. Particulars of the numbers and cost are not available. The total cost to the Board of Control of State institutions directly under their administration during the year ended on the 31st March, 1929, was £45,045, towards which £1,838 was contributed by local authorities or relatives of patients. The number of defectives under treatment at these institutions on the 1st January, 1929, was 785.

asked the Minister of Health whether his attention has been called to the recent floods in South Wales, which have caused havoc and privation to many homes; whether he intends to institute inquiries as to the cause and prevention of these catastrophes; and whether he will promote legislation so that the victims of floods, landslides, and similar acts of nature may be compensated for all loss incurred and not be forced to depend on private charity to make good such damage?

I am aware of these unfortunate floods, and the position has been receiving my consideration. One of my inspectors has already investigated conditions in the Rhondda Valley. The only Government assistance available is through the Unemployment Grants Committee and two District Councils have already submitted proposals to the Committee. It is for the Local Authorities in the first place to consider the cause and prevention of these occurrences. I regret that I cannot promise legislation on the lines suggested by my hon. Friend.

asked the Minister of Health if his attention has been drawn to the havoc and destruction caused by the Towy overflowing at Carmarthen; and if he will consider giving the vic- tims of the flood a grant and also a grant to the local authority to restore things to normal again?

I have no details of this flood and regret that there are no Government funds out of which a grant could be made except so far as a grant might be available for any works through the Unemployment Grants Committee.

asked the Minister of Health if it is the intention of the Government to introduce a measure and to grant pensions to necessitous women of 55 or over who are unmarried and are not covered by the present scheme; and, if so, of what amount?

I am not at present in a position to add anything to what I said on this matter when the Contributory Pensions Amending Bill was considered in Committee.

asked the Minister of Health if it is the intention of the Government to extend the facilities for the preventive administration of artificial sunlight to mothers and children; and, if so, what steps he proposes to take to overcome any shortage of medical practitioners who are qualified for such work?

The extension of facilities for this form of treatment is a matter in the first instance for the local authorities. I am not at present aware of any shortage of doctors who have experience of this method of treatment.

asked the Minister of Health if he can now state the result of the inquiry into the decision of the Waterloo-with-Seaforth Urban District Council to raise a loan of £30,000 to extend the town hall and effect certain improvements in the public parks?

I am not yet in a position to give a decision on this matter.

asked the Minister of Health whether he proposes to introduce legislation altering the boundaries of existing local authorities; and when, in connection with this matter, he proposes to publish the Report of the Royal Commission on Local Self-Government?

I would refer the hon. Member to the provisions of Part IV of the Local Government Act of this year, and, as regards the second part of the question, to the second report of the Royal Commission published in October, 1928.

asked the Minister of Health if he can state the local authorities which supply, or have supplied, theatrical and cinema shows financed by the rates; and in how many cases profits have been made?

I regret that I have not available the desired information.

asked the Minister of Health whether his attention has been called to the growing difficulties experienced by local authorities in respect to caravans and other similar dwellings; and whether, having regard to the permanent nature of many of them, he will consider introducing legislation discouraging the permanent occupation of caravans and similar dwellings, and grant local authorities powers to deal with them in a more satisfactory manner than at present?

I would refer my hon. Friend to the answer given by me to-day to questions put by several hon. Members on the subject.

asked the Minister of Health how many children and young persons are certified as mentally deficient and suitable for institutional treatment; and how many of that number are unable to receive such treatment through lack of accommodation?

The statistics available do not enable me to give the information asked for by my hon. Friend.

asked the Minister of Health if he contemplates dealing with the growing evil of refuse dumping?

I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply to questions by him and the hon. Member for the St. Albans Division (Lieut.-Colonel Fremantle) on the 7th instant.

asked the Minister of Health whether his attention has been drawn to the manner in which rubbish and refuse is still collected in some of the London boroughs by open dustcarts; and will he consider introducing legislation which will have as its object the abolition of open dustcarts not only in London but in all thickly populated areas?

My attention has been drawn to this matter. Legislation has not up to the present been considered to be necessary. Local authorities are increasingly making use of dustcarts with covers and are encouraged by my Department to do so. So far as London is concerned, I think it will be best to wait until the Departmental Committee on London Cleansing have made their report.

asked the Minister of Health what steps are taken by his Department to protect the public from the danger of tuberculous milk?

The steps taken by my Department in this matter include the promotion of legislation and the issue of orders and circulars, and whilst the actual responsibility for the protection of the public health rests with local authorities, my Department assists by inspection and advice both to local authorities and to milk producers.

asked the Minister of Health whether he has evidence as to whether the overcrowding, as revealed in the 1921 Census, has in general increased or decreased since that date in the slum areas in different parts of the country?

I have no direct evidence on this subject, but more than a million and a quarter new houses have been completed in England and Wales since the date of the Census of 1921, and this number is greatly in excess of normal requirements. It may, therefore, be assumed that overcrowding has in general decreased.

asked the Home Secretary if he is aware that no memorandum has yet been issued defining the exact nature of newly-cooked provisions under the Shops (Hours of Closing) Act, 1928; and whether he proposes to issue such a memorandum?

I have no authority to issue a definition of the expression "newly cooked provisions" as used in the Statute. So far as I am aware, no serious difficulty has been experienced by the local authorities in administering, or by the Courts in interpreting, the provision.

asked the Home Secretary whether he is now prepared to say what action he proposes to take to put into operation the recommendations of three Departmental Committees on Sexual Offences against Young Persons, on the Treatment of Young Offenders, and on Metropolitan Police Courts and Juvenile Courts, respectively?

Various recommendations of these Committees not requiring legislation have already been brought to the notice of the Courts. Some of the recommendations have already been passed into law, while others have been noted for legislation at a suitable opportunity. As soon as the state of public business permits the Government is anxious to introduce a Bill to amend the Children Act, 1908, and the recommendations of these Committees are being taken into consideration in the framing of the Bill. As regards the Committee on Metropolitan Police Courts and Juvenile Counts, its recommendations do not require legis- lation, and steps have been taken, or are being taken, to give effect to all of them, including the recommendations in regard to the re-organisation of the Juvenile Courts in London.

asked the Home Secretary if he is aware of the good work done among prisoners by the Adult School Union; and whether he is prepared to grant financial assistance for the further development of this social service?

Yes, Sir, I appreciate the valuable work done by this body and by other organisations and individuals who have helped in the development of adult educational classes in prisons. Hitherto this work has been on a voluntary basis, and if the House of Commons were to be asked to vote money for it, a substantial sum would be needed, since, if grants were given to one body, they would have to be given to many others also.

asked the Home Secretary whether dictaphones are now in use by the Metropolitan Police at their headquarters in making private inquiries?

I presume that the hon. Member refers not to a dictaphone, which enables one to dictate letters or memoranda without the presence of a shorthand writer, but to a dictagraph, which enables a conversation held in one room to be heard in another. Various instruments of this type have been tried at the New Scotland Yard but have not been found satisfactory.

asked the Home Secretary whether he still has any sums of money in his keeping that were taken from ex-Station-Sergeant Goddard when he was dismissed from the C Division of the Metropolitan Police; and whether any decision has been arrived at as to the ultimate disposal of these funds?

The Commissioner of Police for the Metropolis holds the sum of £11,327 18s. 6d. found in the possession of ex-Sergeant Goddard. The ultimate disposal of this money is the subject of legal proceedings which have not yet terminated, and I am therefore unable to answer the latter part of the question.

asked the Home Secretary whether he can state the number of occasions during the previous two years on which police officers have applied for and been granted permission by the Commissioner of Police to issue writs for libel; and whether he has any knowledge whether these cases have been pressed forward properly, and has any disciplinary action followed their results?

During the past two years, there were eight cases in which police officers were permitted by the Commissioner to institute proceedings for libel. In four of these cases two police officers were involved. In one instance, two of the defendants went into liquidation and no further action was taken, but in every other case a settlement was reached either out of Court or as a result of an action. In no case did disciplinary action ensue.

asked the Home Secretary in how many cases during the previous 12 months the Commissioner of Police has agreed to waive the payment of 5s. for the police report where the applicants were persons injured in street accidents within the Metropolitan Police Area and not able to pay this amount; and can he give instructions that in necessitious cases this charge should not be enforced?

The fee has been waived in 54 cases in the last 12 months on the grounds indicated in accordance with the present practice. No further instructions are required.

asked the Minister of Agriculture if he can arrange for the broadcasting of gale warnings at all periods when the fishing news and other messages are issued for the information of fishermen, in order that the fullest warning may be afforded to the fishing fleets when at sea?

The broadcast service which the hon. Member desires is already being provided. In the course of the Herring Fishery Bulletin which is broadcast in the early afternoon of each weekday during October and November the latest weather forecast for the area Plumber to Thames and any gale warnings which have been issued are repeated. During the continuance of the East Anglian Herring Season a special weather forecast for the area of operations is broadcast at the end of the shipping forecast each evening.

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether he will cause representations to be made to the Canadian Government with a view to the removal of the embargo on the importation of English potatoes into that country, in view of the fact that our growers have large quantities of sound potatoes free from disease ready for immediate exportation?

I can add nothing to the replies given by my right hon. Friend to the question and supplementary question on this subject on the 18th November, of which I am sending the hon. Member a copy.

asked the Minister of Agriculture if he can now state the dates on which the proposed conference with representatives of the principal interests is to be held?

My right hon. Friend is not in a position at present to make any announcement on this subject.

asked the Minister of Agriculture if, in view of the fact that he has invited the representatives of agricultural interests to a conference with representatives of His Majesty's Government, he will consider inviting representatives of the two opposition parties to a three-party conference to discuss the result of the conference of agricultural interests?

My right hon. Friend would prefer to await the result of the proposed conference of agricultural interests before expressing any opinion on this suggestion.

asked the Minister of Agriculture if, at the conference to which representatives of the principal agricultural interests have been invited, he will set aside a session for the discussion, with or without the representatives of His Majesty's Government, of the question of the payment of tithe by agriculturists, the effect of the importation of bounty-fed wheat, and the insurance of agricultural workers?

I have informed the bodies who have been invited to send representatives to the proposed conference that the Government has no wish to exclude the discussion of any appropriate subject which may commend itself to the conference. In these circumstances, I do not feel that there is any occasion for me to take the course suggested by the hon. Member.

asked the Minister of Agriculture if he will state the quantity of wheat and oats imported from Germany during the past 12 months; and if he has now obtained the amount of bounty received by the Germans on cereals purchased by this country during this period?

The quantities of wheat and oats imported into the United Kingdom from Germany during the 12 months ending October, 1929, were 2,849,890 cwts. and 2,050,888 cwts. respectively. On the assumption, which I am unable to verify, that the whole of the imports of cereals into the United Kingdom from Germany during this period were made under the existing system of import bonds, the face value of the import bonds received by German exporters in respect of their exports of cereals to the United Kingdom may have amounted to £670,000.

asked the Minister of Agriculture if he can gave the approximate number of smallholders in England and Wales at the last convenient date?

:I regret that I am unable to give the number of smallholders in England and Wales. The number of agricultural holdings, however, in England and Wales exceeding one acre but not exceeding 50 acres in extent as returned on 4th June last, was 258,326. This figure includes a number of pieces or parcels of land which were separately returned but which, especially as regards those under 20 acres, are not what are usually understood as agricultural or small holdings. The exact number of these cannot be given.

asked the Minister of Agriculture if he intends to introduce legislation for fixing a minimum wage for agricultural workers?

The Government have no present intention of introducing legislation on this subject.

asked the Minister of Agriculture if, in the interests of sugar-beet growers, he is prepared to make available to smallholders and agricultural workers information as to the best method of pulling beet, disposing of small crops, and conditions of factory purchase, and the machinery through which they can obtain credit for growing small crops on small holdings, allotments, and gardens?

There is available to all growers of sugar beet the advice and assistance of the County Agricultural Organisers, and other advisory staff attached to the agricultural colleges and county councils, which co-operate with the factories' agricultural staff in a coordinated educational and research programme arranged jointly by the Ministry of Agriculture and the Beet Sugar Factories Committee. The addresses of these advisory officers can be obtained from the county councils. Moreover, I understand that growers of sugar beet receive from the factories both printed information, revised according to experience to date, and also advice from the agricultural officers and fieldsmen employed by the factory companies, who are constantly visiting growers and inspecting their crops. The provision of advice in these ways must obviously lead to the training not only of the regular workers on the farm but also of the supplementary seasonal workers for singling, hoeing and lifting. Information in regard to credit is furnished to any farmer, smallholder or agricultural worker who applies to the Ministry or to the Department's local officers.

asked the Minister of Transport if his attention has been called to the number of fatalities which have occurred at night with cyclists being knocked down by motor vehicles, and to the uselessness of the reflectors now allowed by law; and if he will introduce a Bill compelling cyclists to carry a red lamp at the rear of their machines?

I am aware that fatalities have occurred through cyclists being knocked down by motor vehicles at night, but I do not agree that reflectors which comply with the law are useless or that it is necessary to revise the legislation recently enacted on this subject.

asked the Undersecretary of State for the Colonies whether he has received the Report from the Governor of Gambia regarding the situation at Bathurst, particularly as to whether all business was suspended; whether troops were called out because the local police were unable to deal with the situation; whether martial law has been proclaimed; whether these measures led to any loss of life or bodily injury; and what is the present situation in the colony?

I would refer the hon. Member to my reply yesterday to the hon. Member for Peterborough. Business was not suspended, troops were not called out, the situation was handled by the police, martial law was not proclaimed, no lives were lost and only a few slight injuries sustained. The present situation is absolutely peaceful and the strike has been settled.

asked the Minister of Agriculture if his attention has been called to the growing numbers of unemployed farm workers during the winter months; and if the Government propose to take any action during this winter to assist these men and their families who do not come under the Unemployment Insurance Act?

No statistics are available of the numbers of agricultural workers unemployed during recent winters. Such information as the Ministry possesses, however, supports the hon. Member's suggestion that the number of such workers unemployed in the winter months has increased during the last year or two, and I shall give close attention to any developments during the coining winter.

asked the Minister of Agriculture if he can state the estimated number of agricultural workers unemployed at the present time and the number likely to be unemployed during the coming winter; and whether there is an increase or decrease over the years 1927 and 1928?

I would refer the hon. Member to my reply to a question on the subject addressed to me to-day by the hon. Member for the Buckrose Division (Major Braithwaite).

asked the Minister of Labour if her attention has been called to the grievance felt by cotton weavers, in that a cotton weaver working one loom and only working three days out of six receives half wages and unemployment insurance for the remaining three days, while a cotton weaver working two looms out of four only receives half wages and does not receive any unemployment insurance pay; and whether she will look into this question?

I have recently been considering this problem, but in view of the fact that the scheme, owing to the working conditions in most industries and occupations, can only pay for complete days of unemployment, I am afraid that I see no practicable means of dealing with it by means of an amendment of the Unemployment Insurance Scheme.

asked the Minister of Labour if she will state the amount of money paid for travelling and other allowances during the last 12 months in all cases where umpires under the Unemployment Insurance Acts have requested the personal attendance of claimants for benefit?

The amount paid for travelling and other allowances during the year ended 31st October, 1929, in respect of claimants for benefit attending at the office of the umpire was £284.

asked the Minister of Labour if she will state the number of persons on the live register who have not been able to obtain any work or who have not done any work during the last two years?

An analysis of insured claimants on the registers of Employment Exchanges on 14th October, 1929, made on the basis of a 10 per cent. sample, showed that there were approximately 23.740 men and 940 women who had not paid unemployment insurance contributions during the previous two years. It is possible that in some of these cases there may have been employment in uninsured occupations, but statistics on this point are not available.

asked the Minister of Labour if she will state the present interpretation of the words genuinely seeking work by which the local insurance officers are guided in deciding upon applications for unemployment insurance benefit?

With the hon. Member's permission, I will send him a copy of a leading decision by the umpire on this subject.

asked the Minister of Labour whether domestic service in private employment is treated as ranking, in the case of a domestic worker in an hotel or other institution operating for profit, as suitable employment under Section 5 (2) (ii) of the Unemployment Insurance Act, 1927; and whether it is proposed that it shall so rank under Clause 4 (3) of the Unemployment Insurance (No. 2) Bill as introduced?

The question whether in any particular case employment is suitable is a matter for decision by the statutory authorities, and, on the point raised by the Noble Lady, the Bill now before the House does not propose any change in the principles to be applied.

asked the Minister of Labour if she can give the figures for the months of July, August, September and October, 1929, of the people disallowed benefit for not genuinely seeking work at the Liverpool Employment Exchanges; and the figures for the corresponding months in 1928?

, pursuant to her reply (OFFICIAL REPORT, 26th November, 1929, col. 1243) supplied the following statement :

asked the Minister of Labour if she will state the number of claims for benefit made and the number disallowed at the Employment Exchange,

Shoreditch, with the reason for such disallowances, during the first 10 months of the years 1926 and 1929, respectively?

following is the answer: