asked the President of the Board of Trade what information has been omitted in the accounts relating to Trade and Navigation of the United Kingdom in order to effect a reduction in size of 38 pages in the December, 1930, accounts as compared with the December, 1929, accounts?

Apart from minor alterations which do not affect the number of pages, there has been no omission of data from the accounts, the reduction in size being due to closer setting of the type.

asked the President of the Board of Trade the imports into this country of steel and calico from India in 1930; and what are the prices of these commodities as compared with the similar prices obtainable in this country?

During the year 1930 the total imports into the United Kingdom of crude steel and of semi-finished steel goods consigned from British India amounted to three tons, of a declared value of £37. Particulars of the imports of calico, as such, are not recorded in the trade returns of the United Kingdom, nor do the official trade statistics of India distinguish the exports of calico, but during the year 1930 the total imports into the United Kingdom of grey unbleached cotton piece-goods consigned from India amounted to 1,325 square yards, of a declared value of £25, while the imports of white bleached cotton piece-goods from India amounted to 6,651 square yards, valued at £238. Owing to the varied character of the commodities comprised in the above descriptions of goods, it is not possible to give comparable prices in this country of corresponding commodities.

asked the Minister of Labour if she has any further information on the proposed scheme of the German Government under which funds are to be diverted from unemployment insurance benefits to the subsidising of German industries?

I have as yet no further information concerning the intentions of the German Government in this matter.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether his attention has been called to the invention of an apparatus for the prevention of pollution by oil from ships on rivers and coastal waters, thus rendering valuable service for the saving of fish and bird life; and whether he intends to take any action in regard to its use?

There are several types of separator on the market, and a certain number of ships are fitted with separators. I should be glad to see the use of apparatus of this kind extended, but I am afraid that the matter could only be effectively dealt with by international action.

asked the Secretary for Mines in view of the recent explosion at Whitehaven, what steps he has taken to hasten a decision about the use of some automatic gas alarm in all dangerous pits; whether he is satisfied that an efficient apparatus exists for warning men of the presence of gas in dangerous quantities; and, if so, what steps he proposes to take to make the use of such detectors compulsory?

It would be premature to express any opinion now—one way or the other—as to the existence of any relationship between the recent explosion at Whitehaven and the other subject matter of this question. But in general I may say that, after the fullest investigation, I am not satisfied that, as yet, there is any firedamp detector, except the flame safety lamp, which can safely be relied upon by the workmen. One type of automatic alarm has been tried at several collieries but with disappointing results. A modified design of it, embodying an improvement suggested by the Safety in Mines Research Board, has recently been produced, and, following on extensive tests in the laboratory with fairly satisfactory results, I have decided to arrange for it to be given a carefully supervised trial in ordinary pit use. Further action must depend upon the results of these trials.

asked the Home Secretary the amount of compensation paid to workers in the mining industry in Great Britain, or to their dependants, for each of the last three years, giving separate figures for Lancashire and Cheshire?

The amount of compensation paid in the whole of the mining industry in the last three years for which figures are available was as follows:—In 1927, £3,014,161; in 1928, £3,026,678; and in 1929, £3,049,826. I regret that the returns do not enable me to give separate figures for particular areas.

asked the Postmaster-General whether he has received any protests from subscribers on the proposed division of the London Telephone Directory and the publication of the two halves at different times; whether he is aware of the discrimination they will cause in favour of subscribers whose names are in the range of letters A to K; and whether he will consider the alternative suggestion of periodical supplements to the directory as new subscribers to the telephone service are added?

Very few protests have been received. Any slight advantage in favour of subscribers whose names are in the A to K range will disappear after the first issue of part two, namely, in mid-April. I do not think that the issue of a series of periodical supplements would be popular with telephone subscribers.

asked the Postmaster-General whether he will consider allowing the telephone to be installed in the houses of district nurses at a reduced rate, or, failing this, allowing only the private residence rate to be charged even when the name of the nursing association appears in the telephone directory?

The residential rate already applies in any case where nursing is not carried on at the house and where the entry in the telephone directory makes no reference to the nurse's profession. I regret that I am unable to make any further concession.

asked the Attorney-General whether he will give a, list of the names of the advisory committee for the West Suffolk area?

The following are the members of the Lord Chancellor's Advisory Committee in the county of Suffolk:Chairman: Sir Courtenay T. Warner, Bart., C.B., Brettenham Park, Suffolk.Lieut.-Colonel The Earl of Stradbroke, C.V.O., C.B., J.P., Henham Hall, Wangford.The Marquess of Bristol, M.V.O., J.P., Ickworth Park, Bury St. Edmunds.Robert Bilsland, Esq., J.P., Churchgate Farm, Lakenheath, Brandon.C. H. Lomax, Esq., J.P., Grove Park, Yoxford.Alderman William Wade, J.P., 17, Violet Hill Road, Stowmarket.Lady Owen Mackenzie, J.P., Brantham Court, Suffolk.The Right Hon. Lord Somerleyton, G.C.V.O., J.P., Eastnor Castle, Led-bury, Herefordshire.Lord Loch, C.B., C.M.G., M.V.O., J.P., Stoke College, Stoke-by-Clare.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether the power which formerly was vested in the Admiralty alone to discharge workmen from His Majesty's dockyards has been resumed by the Admiralty, or whether the power is still delegated to local dockyard authorities to dismiss up to 2 per cent. in any department without informing the Admiralty?

The hon. Member is under a misapprehension. In modern times, at any rate, the Admiralty has never reserved to itself alone the power of discharging workmen from the dockyards. At the present time discharges are authorised by the local officers, but discharges of more than 2 per cent, of the total number employed in any department, or more than 10 in all in departments with less than 500 workpeople, are specially reported to the Admiralty before the issue of notices.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty how many apprentices have completed their training since June, 1929; and how many have been discharged on coming out of their time?

The numbers are 567 and 26 respectively. Of the number discharged two were at their own request.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty how much each apprentice in His Majesty's dockyards costs the State to train?

The average cost of the instruction of apprentices in His Majesty's dockyard schools at home during 1930 was about £20 10s. per head, and the total cost on this basis for an apprentice who receives four years' instruction is, therefore, about £82.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty the number of engine-room artificer apprentices promoted to midshipman (E) in each year since the introduction of the scheme in 1921?

The orders for this scheme of promotion were promulgated in December, 1922, and the following promotions to midshipman (E) have been made:

1924	2
1925	2
1926	1
1927	1
1928	2
1929	1
1930	Nil
1931	1 so far.

asked the Minister of Pensions the number of applications in respect of cases outside the seven years' limit which have been investigated by his Department in each of the last three years; the number of such cases in which favourable awards have been made; and the aggregate annual payment which these awards entail?

I have no record of the aggregate number of the applications of this nature which were dealt with by the Ministry during the years in question, but the number of cases in which the application was recognised by the Ministry either by way of treatment or pecuniary compensation was in 1928, 318; in 1929, 497; and in 1930, 991. The present annual cost of the awards made is estimated at approximately £70,000. No record is available of the cost of treatment and treatment allowances in the cases in which treatment has been provided.

asked the Minister of Pensions the reasons for the refusal of treatment allowances to F. S. Radford, 65, Welfare Road, West Ham; and whether he will review this case?

The case has been reviewed. Mr. Radford is in receipt of a pension of 46s. weekly for tuberculosis, with a superannuation allowance from the Post Office in addition. He loses no earnings in consequence of his attendance at the tuberculosis dispensary. In these circumstances, he is ineligible for any additional allowance during such treatment.

asked the President of the Board of Education if he will furnish particulars bringing up to date the information contained in his reply regarding nursery schools given in the House of Commons on 19th December, 1929?

I am not sure to which of the two replies regarding nursery schools given by me on 19th December, 1929, my hon. Friend refers. More recent information regarding the numbers and cost of nursery schools was given in my reply of 26th January last to the hon. Member for Edmonton (Mr. Broad), of which I am sending my hon. Friend a copy.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether opportunities are given to manufacturers of Welsh blankets to tender for Army clothing contracts; and, if not, whether he will arrange for a certain proportion of such contracts to be allotted to Welsh blankets and thus encourage home industries?

All contracts for blankets are placed with manufacturers in the United Kingdom. There are at present no Welsh manufacturers on the War Department list of contractors for blankets, but it is open to any manufacturers in Wales who can make the type of blanket required to apply to be placed on the list. Firms on the list receive forms of tender whenever supplies are required.

asked the Secretary of State for War if he now proposes to make any improvement in the condition of Grade 4 clerks at the Royal Arsenal and their promotion to established grades?

The position of the clerks referred to is closely analogous to that of temporary ex-service clerks employed throughout the Government service, and it is not possible to deal with them except in relation to the general ex-service problem. The matter will be reviewed when the Royal Commission on the Civil Service has reported.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether he can now make a statement concerning the position of the second class book-keepers at the Royal Arsenal; and whether an agreement has now been arrived at as to their representation on the Whitley bodies?

I regret that the employés' sides of the two Whitley bodies concerned have so far found themselves unable to reach agreement on the question of the representation of second class book-keepers. The question is being further explored, but in the meantime I am not in a position to make any statement.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether he has considered certain claims made in September, 1929, for increases in wages of certain men employed in the mechanical engineering department of the Royal Arsenal; and the date he gave a definite reply and the nature of such reply?

The answer to the first part of the question is in the affirmative. As regards the second part, a claim on behalf of skilled men was answered by letters of 8th August and 26th November last, and a claim on behalf of non-skilled men was answered by letter of 2nd September. These replies were to the effect that on the evidence available the existing wages could not be regarded as less than "fair" within the meaning of the Fair Wages Resolution.

asked the Secretary of State for War what is the present deficiency of establishment in personnel of the Territorial Army, defining the deficiency in each arm of the Service?

The following table shows the establishment, strength and defi-

Arm.	Establishment.		Strength.		Deficiency.
	Officers.	Other Ranks.	Officers.	Other Ranks.	Officers.	Other Ranks.
Yeomanry and Scouts	362	4,624	312	4,411	50	213
Royal Horse Artillery	17	369	15	344	2	25
Royal Artillery	1,881	31,153	1,607	25,893	274	5,260
Royal Engineers	579	13,336	459	8,373	120	4,963
Royal Corps of Signals	333	6,108	284	4,483	49	1,625
Infantry	3,381	98,590	3,028	79,167	353	19,423
Royal Tank Corps	112	1,416	94	1,299	18	117
Royal Army Chaplains Department.	306	—	201	—	105	—
Royal Army Service Corps	164	1,381	150	1,223	14	158
Royal Army Medical Corps	768	2,136	499	1,675	269	461
Royal Army Ordnance Corps.	43	427	35	373	8	54
Royal Army Veterinary Corps.	49	52	48	41	1	11
Engineer and Railway Staff Corps.	60	—	52	—	8	—
Total	8,055	159,592	6,784	127,282	1,271	32,310

In the case of Air Defence troops, Royal Artillery and Royal Engineers there is a restriction on recruiting. At present recruiting for the Territorial Army as a whole is limited to 165,429 all ranks, as against the total establishment of 167,647.

asked the Minister of Transport how many men will be employed, and for how long, on the work on the Somerset by-pass road at Porlock; and what is the total estimated cost and the estimated expenditure, respectively, on the acquisition of land and/or other compensation to owners or occupiers for severance, disturbance, easements and the like, wages and material?

It is estimated that approximately 1,200 men-months of employment will be provided on the works. The total estimated cost is about £50,000, of which the acquisition of land and/or other compensation for severance and the like represents £3,000. Constructional works (including wages and material) account for the remainder.

asked the Lord Advocate whether his attention has been called to cases in which persons charged with offences have been detained in custody through inability to pay the sum required as bail; and whether he will take steps to graduate the amount of bail according to the means of the person charged?

The answer to the first part of my hon. Friend's question is in the negative. With regard to the second part of the question, I would remind the hon. Member that the amount of bail is a matter to be determined by the court, and the practice is to take into account the means of the person charged.

asked the Minister of Health if he will consider the employment in each area of local unemployed possessing the necessary qualifications on extra work entailed in the preparation for and carrying out of the forthcoming census?

asked the Minister of Health if, when making arrangements for the census to be taken, he will consider the advisability of employing men from the Employment Exchanges to distribute and collect the necessary forms?

I have, of course, given the most careful consideration to this matter, since all would agree that the unemployed should have the maximum opportunity of work consistent with success in carrying out the census work, which, I may observe, so far as it is enumeration, does not last very long. It is a condition of such success that persons recruited as enumerators must be fully qualified for the work and must also be so situated that they can be relied on to be available for instruction during the necessary interval between their appointment and the census and to do the work without fail when the day comes. Therefore, enumerators are required to bind themselves under penalty not to make default. Wholesale recourse to the unemployed in such conditions is not consistent either with their interests or with safety in the census arrangements, since if offered regular work in the interval they must refuse the offer or make default. I have, however, taken all steps practicable to see that full consideration is given to unemployed persons with the necessary qualifications so situated that they can be relied on to do the work efficiently when the time comes. The success of the census enumeration has, however, to be the paramount factor in deciding what can and should be done.

asked the Minister of Labour whether, in view of the apprehension caused by the Employment Exchanges compelling claimants for unemployment benefit to state their age and the consequent handicap on persons of middle age, she will consider the removal of such disability?

I do not agree that claimants are handicapped in obtaining employment by having to state their age to the Exchange. On the contrary, this is one of the particulars which the Exchange should know if it is to be in a position to give the greatest assistance to claimants. No discrimination on grounds of age is made in submitting applicants otherwise suitable, except where the employer has stated an age limit. I should add that in certain cases the rate of benefit or the right to benefit depends on the claimant's age.

asked the Minister of Labour when, at the present rate of unemployment, the borrowing powers of the fund will be exhausted?

It is estimated that if the present rate of unemployment continues, the present limit of borrowing powers of the Unemployment Fund (£70,000,000) will be exhausted by the first week in March.

asked the Minister of Labour whether she is aware that men residing at Newcastle and other places have recently found it impossible to continue at the West Tofts Training Camp, Brandon, to which they were sent under the Ministry's training scheme, on the ground that the food supplied was uneatable and the accommodation huts were leaking and that inadequate bedding was supplied; whether any inquiry is being or will be instituted into the conditions of this and other training camps; and whether she will take measures to ensure that conditions are made more tolerable?

I have inquired into the complaints, and am satisfied that they are wholly unjustified. When the men to whom the hon. Member apparently refers left the centre, they stated that they had no complaint to make against the centre and gave reasons for leaving which did not reflect in any way upon the conditions. I am sending the hon. Member a copy of a report of an independent inquiry into the conditions at this and other centres which was made last year in consequence of complaints similar to those which have now reached the hon. Member.

asked the Minister of Labour if she will consider the industrial development of Erith and Dartford in relation to the continuation of temporary premises for Employment Exchanges subject to constant change of address; and whether any consideration is being given to permanent buildings?

Dartford and Erith are included in the Employment Exchange building programme and action will be taken as early as practicable having regard to the relative needs of other Employment Exchange areas.

asked the Minister of Labour the number of persons now engaged on the Keynsham unemployment relief scheme, together with the number which the scheme was stated to provide for when submitted for approval?

At 30th January, 1931, 35 men were employed on the sewerage scheme undertaken by Keynsham Rural District Council with the aid of a grant from Exchequer Funds for the relief of unemployment. The scheme has been in operation since 1st December, 1930. When application for grant was made, the local authority estimated that the weekly average number of men to be employed on the work would be 100.

asked the Minister of Labour the standard rate of wages in the pressed metal-ware trade in Wolverhampton other than those under trade board rates?

I have no information as to any standard rates of wages in this industry other than the minimum rates in operation under the Trade Boards Acts.

asked the Minister of Labour if she can make a statement on the present dispute in the cotton industry?

The Weavers' Amalgamation have called a meeting of their general council for Saturday next. In the meantime, I think that no useful purpose would be served by further comment on the position.

asked the Minister of Labour if she will consider the desirability of introducing differential cost-of- living figures according to the position and remuneration of those whose wages or salaries are regulated by them; and what is the objection, if any, to such differentiation?

The information as to the distribution of expenditure by different classes of the community which would be necessary for this purpose is not available.

asked the Minister of Health if he is aware that the children's home at Rochford, under the Southend public assistance committee, is overcrowded; and if he will take steps to secure improvement in this respect?

Yes, Sir. My right hon. Friend brought this matter to the notice of the council in June last, and understands that they are considering the provision of increased accommodation. My right hon. Friend is keeping in touch with the council on the matter.

asked the Minister of Health if he is aware that children over three years of age are living in the Lancaster institution and the Hornby institution, under the control of the Lancaster Public Assistance Committee, contrary to the regulations of the Ministry; and if he will take steps to have them removed?

My right hon. Friend understands that there are no children over three years of age living in the ordinary wards of the institution at Lancaster. There are 54 children in the Park Side Children's Home which is adjacent to, but distinct from, the institution, with a separate entrance. The Hornby institution has, for some time, with my right hon. Friends concurrence, been mainly used to accommodate mentally defective and backward children. The use of this institution will no doubt be further considered as part of the general problem of classification in the county.

asked the Minister of Health if he is aware that the children's home at Weymouth, under the Dorset Public Assistance Committee, has been condemned by the medical attendant of the home and by the inspector of the Ministry; and if he will take steps to secure proper treatment for the children?

There is no children's home properly so-called at Weymouth, and it is assumed that the question refers to the institution in which the children are temporarily housed. Reports on accommodation for children in the County of Dorset have been forwarded to the county council who are understood to have the question of establishing a children's home under consideration. The general inspector is in close touch with the public assistance committee on the matter.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Air whether he has come to any decision, in the light of the report of the technical sub-committee which investigated the accident at Meopham, upon the question of continuing the validation of German certificates of airworthiness for certain types of aeroplanes?

The matter is still under consideration, but there is no present intention of discontinuing the reciprocal arrangements with Germany with regard to validation of certificates of airworthiness.

asked the Minister of Health whether the sale for human consumption of portions of imported mutton and lamb cut from carcases in which there has been evidence or suspicion of caseous lymphadenitis is still permitted in England and Wales?

I would refer the hon. Member to the replies which my right hon. Friend gave on 22nd and 29th January to his questions on this subject.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Air if he will consider the advisability of postponing by two years the seniority of short-service commission officers who afterwards obtain permanent commissions in the Royal Air Force, in view of the fact that these officers would otherwise be placed at an advantage over those who go straight through the Royal Air Force College at Cranwell?

The matter has been considered, but my Noble Friend is not able to adopt the hon. Member's suggestion. The average age of the short-service officer, on first commissioning, is greater than that of the officer passing to a permanent commission from Cranwell.