asked the President of the Board of Education whether any additional charges will be imposed on public funds under the Widows', Orphans' and Old Age Contributory Pensions Act, 1925, and the Unemployment Insurance Acts, owing to the raising of the school age under the Education (School Attendance) Bill; and, if so, whether the additional charges have been taken into account in the Financial Memorandum attached to the Bill?

I am, of course, aware of the point to which the hon. Members draws attention. I did not attempt in the Financial Memorandum attached to the Bill to estimate the financial reactions on other services, including those referred to by the hon. Member. The Financial Memorandum was intended to show the additional expenditure referable to the education services involved by the raising of the school leaving age and the grant of maintenance allowances, and included possible contingent charges for those services. No reference was made to expenditure arising on additional allowances that will become payable in respect of children over 14 under the Contributory Pensions Act, 1925, and the Unemployment Insurance Acts, as these allowances differ fundamentally in character and will be included in the claimant's "income from all sources" which will determine entitlement to a maintenance allowance under the Bill. I am informed that the additional expenditure on allowances under the Contributory Pensions Act may be estimated at about £400,000 per annum. The additional expenditure under the Unemployment Insurance Acts is dependent on the number of unemployed after the Bill comes into operation. On the basis of a live register in the neighbourhood of 1,000,000 the cost involved would be about £200,000.

asked the Minister of Labour the number of insured persons in the counties of Brecon and Radnor in July, 1930; the number of unemployed on 17th November, 1930; and the percentage of men, women and children separately, together with the increase or decrease compared with previous years?

The following table gives the information desired:

asked the Minister of Labour the number of claims for unemployment benefit that have been disallowed since 13th March, 1930, by the Pontefract, Castleford and Goole courts of referees on the grounds that the claimants are not normally employed in insurable employment; and how these figures compare with the disallowances

for the same period during 1929 under the not genuinely seeking work provision?

The following table gives the information desired. The figures for certain grounds of disallowance other than those specified in the question have been added because a comparison between the periods in the table would otherwise be misleading.