asked the First Lord of the Admiralty the total number of men, established and hired, respectively, employed in Devonport dockyard in each of the months of July, August, September, and October, 1930?

The numbers of workpeople at each of the following dates were:

—	Established.	Hired.	Total.
26th July, 1930	2,979	7,113	10,092
30th August, 1930	2,968	6,885	9,853
27th September, 1930	2,957	6,915	9,872
25th October, 1930	2,926	6,995	9,921

The figures relate to Vote 8 Departments and are in correspondence with those given in reply to the hon. Member's question on 31st July, 1930.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty the total number of men in employment in each of the Royal dockyards for the third quarter of 1930?

The figures required to supplement those given in reply to the question of the hon. Member on 31st July, 1930, are:

			October, 1930.
Portsmouth	…	…	10,667
Devonport	…	…	9,864
Chatham…	…	…	7,372
Sheerness	…	…	1,911
Rosyth	…	…	193

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether he is aware that the ship's company of His Majesty's Ship "Resolution," commissioned on 30th December, 1927, were unable to have the usual Christmas leave prior to leaving England for foreign service, and that now on return to England, after two and a-half years, the crew are retained on board to refit the vessel, and are being allowed the bare 33 days' foreign service leave, but although they are in dockyard they are unable to secure the seven days' summer leave as granted to men serving in the home ports; and whether he will take steps to arrange that the seven days' summer leave be granted?

The ship's company which commissioned "Resolution" in December, 1927, were given the foreign service leave to which they were entitled in July, August, and September, 1930, on the return of the vessel from the Mediterranean. While on such leave they cannot be regarded as rendering service qualifying them for the grant of summer leave, but from the date of their return from foreign service leave their service in the ship will count towards the grant of seasonal leave at Christmas.

asked the Minister of Labour whether she has considered the application from the National Association of Juvenile Employment and Welfare Officers for direct representation of that body on the National Advisory Council for Juvenile Employment; and whether she is prepared to consent to the application, in view of the knowledge of the problems of adolescence that could be placed at the disposal of the National Advisory Council by such a representative?

I have considered the application referred to, but in my opinion the present is not a suitable time to make any change in the composition of the National Advisory Council for Juvenile Employment.

asked the Minister of Labour, what were the total payments into the Unemployment Fund from 13th March, 1930, to the latest date for which figures are available; how these payments were distributed between employers, employed persons, and the Exchequer, respectively; and the total amount paid out in benefit during the same period?

From lath March, 1930, to 1st November, 1930, the receipts of the Unemployment Fund were approximately as follows:

	£
From employers	10,580,000
From employed persons	9,120,000
From Exchequer	21,840,000

making a total of £41,540,000.During the said period, the amount paid out as benefit was approximately £51,850,000.

asked the Minister of Labour, if she will inquire into the conditions governing the employment of men within the Newburn urban district area on works receiving State grants; whether she is aware that the names of able-bodied men available for this work are submitted by the Employment Exchange to the Newburn Urban District Council for final selection by the council works committee, one of the members of which is the agent of a political party; and that pensioners are employed on this work to the exclusion of those not similarly endowed.

The procedure adopted at Newburn for the recruitment of men in connection with schemes of work approved for grant on the recommendation of the Unemployment Grants Committee, follows the normal practice. The manager of the Employment Exchange submits to the council a list of unemployed men on the register, selected in accordance with the conditions of grant. Subject to the overriding condition of industrial suitability for the work in question, and to 'the employment of a stipulated proportion of ex-service men, preference is given to married men and single men with dependants. No other considerations are applied by the Exchange in the selection. As regards the personnel of the committee appointed by the Newburn Urban District Council to make the final selection, this is entirely a matter for the local authority.

asked the Postmaster-General how much the Post Office has received during the past three years from the sale of stamps for agreements and stamp duties on documents.

The amounts transferred by the Post Office in respect of postage stamps used for receipts and revenue purposes on agreements and documents during each of the past three years have been:

				£
1927–28	…	…	…	2,022,448
1928–29	…	…	…	2,142,305
1929–30	…	…	…	2,320,800

In addition, the values of the Inland Revenue and fee stamps and forms sold by the Post Office were:

1927–28	…	…	…	3,126,311
1928–29	…	…	…	3,219,034
1929–30	…	…	…	3,067,174

asked the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies what action is being taken to abolish the present charges for visas on Palestinian passports; when Palestinian citizens will be accorded the full privileges accorded in this matter to ordinary British-protected persons travelling abroad; and why holders of Palestinian passports are compelled to pay fees for British visas before they are allowed to visit Great Britain or any part of the British Empire?

I have been asked to answer this question. The Secretary of State has recently received representations on this subject, and the matter is being examined.