asked the Minister of Health how many able-bodied persons were in receipt of outdoor relief in the county of London on 1st March last; and the number of such persons who were receiving relief without the imposition of a work or other test?

On Saturday, 28th February last, the number of able-bodied men in receipt of outdoor relief in the county of London was 4,959, and of these 3,733 were receiving such relief without the imposition of a work or other test.

asked the Minister of Health, according to the latest available information based on the figures for the standard year, the amount per head of the estimated population in 1928 of the Exchequer grant payable annually during the first fixed grant period under the Local Government Act, 1929, to the borough council of Woolwich, and the sum by which the amount exceeds the losses on account of rates and grants attributable to the operation of the Act?

According to the latest available information based on the figures for the standard year (1928–29), the general Exchequer grant under the Local Government Act, 1929, payable annually during the first fixed grant period to the council of the Metropolitan borough of Woolwich, amounts to 7s. 5d. per head of the estimated population in 1928 of the borough. The share of the borough in the Exchequer grants payable annually during the first fixed grant period under the Act to the borough council and to the London County Council amounts to 13s. 8d. per head of the estimated population of the borough and exceeds the loss otherwise attributable to the operation of the Act, as calculated on the figures of the standard year, by £9,150 or 1s. 3d. per head of the estimated population of the borough. The calculations make allowance for the transfer under the Act of the functions of the guardians to the borough council and the county council respectively, and for the cessation of the grant to the borough council under the London (Equalisation of Rates) Act, 1894, but do not, of course, allow for the rate adjustments as between "gaining" and "losing" boroughs provided for in Section 100 of the Act. The figures given in this answer are approximate, inasmuch as some of the factors required for the purposes of the calculations under the Act have not yet been finally determined.

asked the Prime Minister whether the Government will find time for the remaining stages of the Nationality of Married Women Bill?

I fear I can hold out no hope of special facilities being provided for the further discussion of this Bill.

asked the President of the Board of Education whether he is aware that Mrs. Edith Mary Bell (née Standcliff), now of 25, Beaton Road, Gillingham, Kent, has been refused repayment of the superannuation contributions made by her whilst employed as an assistant mistress at the Beckett Street council schools, Leeds, notwithstanding that she is now married and has retired from the teaching profession, on the ground she is not entitled to such repayment until she has attained the age of 65 years; and whether he will consider the desirability of altering, if necessary by legislation, the provisions relating to the matter?

The contributions paid by Mrs. Bell were under the Teachers' Superannuation Act, 1922. This provides for their repayment when the teacher can satisfy the Board that it is impossible for her, by reason of her age, to complete before attaining the age of 65 such number of years as are necessary to qualify her for a pension, and she has been informed accordingly. She will, in fact, be entitled to repayment shortly before she attains the age of 37. I cannot undertake to initiate legislation to amend the provisions of the Act.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he is yet in a position to announce the decision of the Government upon the report of the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea on the closing of the Moray Firth; and when the necessary negotiations with foreign Powers will be embarked upon?

I refer the hon. and gallant Member to the reply which I gave yesterday to a question on a kindred subject by the hon. and learned Member for East Fife (Mr. Millar). The report of the Committee of the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea which suggested the experimental closure of some part of the Moray Firth during part of the year to trawlers and seiners will be one of the matters to be considered in connection with the present situation in the Moray Firth.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty what is the reason for the increase in the number of officers of the Royal Navy employed at the Admiralty for the year 1931, seeing that the total number of officers on the active list of the Royal Navy has been substantially reduced?

The assistance of three additional officers, respectively a gunnery, an engineering and a signal specialist, is temporarily required for technical work connected with the provision of naval material. The requirements of such work do not depend upon the number of officers on the active list, but on other factors.

asked the Home Secretary if, since the Commissioner of Metropolitan Police requires every taxicab presented for the renewal of its annual licence to pass an efficiency test, he will give instructions that particulars regarding the firm by which the vehicle was constructed and the date and place of manufacture shall be recorded?

I am advised that it is doubtful whether any useful purpose would be served by the keeping of records of the nature suggested in the question. The sole point for consideration on annual presentation of a vehicle is whether or not it satisfies the conditions of fitness laid down, and is in sufficiently good condition to continue to ply for hire. The age of the vehicle, its place of manufacture and the firm by which it was manufactured would not be determining factors in this respect.

asked the Home Secretary what is the number of taximeter cabs of the old type and of the new type, respectively, now in service in the Metropolitan Police area; how many of these taxicabs are owned by the drivers and how many by fleet proprietors; and, in view of the great discrepancy between the taxicabs all plying for hire at a uniform rate of fare, whether the Chief Commissioner of Police has considered any scheme whereby the provision of up-to-date taxicabs can be encouraged and taxicabs of the old type refused licences with the least hardship possible to their owner drivers?

As regard the first and second parts of the question, it would be a most laborious undertaking to extract particulars from the records, even if it were possible to differentiate between old and new types of taxicabs. As regards the last part of the question, all vehicles have to conform to an established standard of fitness and, provided they do so, it would be unreasonable to reject any of them on account of their being of a particular type, 1,704 new taxicabs were licensed during the two years ended 31st December last. This represents over 20 per cent. of the total number of taxicabs licensed to ply for hire. No tightening up of the present standards would be possible without inflicting hardship on owners.

asked the Home Secretary whether he will request the licensing authorities of the Metropolis to institute this year a special examination of taximeter-cabs for the purpose of eliminating worn-out and/or out-of- date taximeter-cabs by means of a super-cut in the numbers of renewal licences of such taximeter-cabs?

The Commissioner has no powers to act in the manner proposed. He can only reject such vehicles as fail to conform to the Commissioner's conditions of fitness. Periodical inspections of all classes of licensed vehicles take place with a view to the elimination of the unfit, and the Commissioner does not think that a special inspection is necessary or desirable.

asked the Home Secretary whether he will request the Metropolitan taximeter cab licensing authorities to consult the makers of taximeters for the purpose of improving the visibility of the hiring flag signal so that it may be more easily seen, especially after sunset?

I am informed by the Commissioner of Police that experiments with illuminated taximeter hiring flags are already being conducted on several cabs, following consultation with the agents of taximeter manufacturers.

asked the Home Secretary how many probation areas have been formed under Part I of the Criminal Justice Act, 1925; in how many of these areas there are whole-time salaried officers, distinguishing men and women; in how many part-time officers, men and women, receiving remuneration; and in how many probation officers receiving no salary or remuneration?

The probation returns for 1930 have not yet been tabulated. According to the returns for 1929, 47 combined probation areas have been formed under Part I of the Criminal Justice Act, 1925. In 25 of these paid full-time men, and in six paid full-time women are employed. In 31 of these paid part-time men and in 35 paid part-time women are employed. In all combined areas paid men are employed; in 37 combined areas paid women are employed. In two combined areas unpaid part-time men, and in three unpaid part-time women are employed as well.

asked the Home Secretary the total number of experiments on living animals performed during 1930 with and without anaesthetics?

The figures are not yet available. If my hon. Friend will repeat his question in six weeks' time, I hope to be able to give them.

asked the Home Secretary the number of experiments on living animals performed for the purpose of cancer research during each of the last five years?

I would ask my hon. Friend to refer to the reports prefixed to the Annual Returns of Experiments on Living Animals, where the figures he asks for are published each year.

asked the Home Secretary how many men and women were committed to prison for failure to pay debts during the last known year; whether he has any information indicating how many were incapable of paying or pleaded incapacity; and the average period of imprisonment and the average cost to the State per day for each person?

As regards the first part of the question, I would refer to the answer given on 22nd January last to my hon. Friend the Member for the Lichfield Division of Staffordshire (Mr. Lovat-Fraser); the information that would be required to answer the second and third parts of the question is not available; as regards the fourth and last part, the maintenance costs of debtors are not distinguishable from those of ordinary prisoners. The average net daily cost to the Prison Vote of a prisoner of any kind in a local prison in respect of the year ended 31st March, 1930, was 2s. 8d.

asked the Home Secretary whether he has arrived at a decision regarding a superannuation scheme for the employés of the Carlisle and district State management scheme?

I can only say that the matter is still under consideration. It concerns the Treasury as well as myself.

asked the Secretary for Mines whether he has anything further to report in connection with the use of automatic gas detectors in coal mines; whether any further tests have been made; whether any have proved satisfactory; and, if so, what steps he proposes to take to introduce automatic gas detectors in coal mines at the earliest possible moment?

Work on this problem is being actively continued, but I am not yet in a position to add anything more to the statement which I made in reply to a question by my hon. Friend on 5th February.

asked the Secretary of State for India whether he can make any statement as to the financial implications of the report of the Round-Table Conference?

I would refer my hon. and gallant Friend to paragraphs 18 and 20 of the report of the Federal Structure Committee of the Round-Table Conference which read as follows:

"18. Finance. Special provisions.—In the sphere of Finance, the sub-Committee regard it as a fundamental condition of the success of the new constitution that no room should be left for doubts as to the ability of India to maintain her financial stability and credit, both at home and abroad. It would therefore be necessary to reserve to the Governor-General in regard to budgetary arrangements and borrowing such essential powers as would enable him to intervene if methods were being pursued which would, in his opinion, seriously prejudice the credit of India in the money markets of the world. The sub-Committee recommend, with a view to ensuring confidence in the management of Indian credit and currency, that efforts should be made to establish on sure foundations and free from any political influence, as early as may be found possible, a Reserve Bank, which will be entrusted with the management of the currency and exchange. With the same object again, provision should be made requiring the Governor-General's previous sanction to the introduction of a Bill to amend the Paper Currency or Coinage Acts on the lines of Section 67 of the Government of India Act. They are further agreed that the service of loans, with adequate provision for redemption, by Sinking Funds or otherwise, and the salaries and pensions of persons appointed on guarantees given by the Secretary of State, should be secured, along with the supply required for the Reserved Departments, as Consolidated Fund Charges.

20. The sub-Committee recognise that it may be difficult in existing conditions to set up a Reserve Bank of sufficient strength and equipped with the necessary gold and sterling reserves immediately, and that, therefore, until this has been done some special provisions will be found necessary to secure to the Governor-General adequate control over monetary policy and currency."

The importance both now and under the new Constitution of the financial stability of India and of her credit position cannot possibly be exaggerated. It is in India's own interest that she should retain the position of confidence which she enjoys. It is the considered view of the Government, which indeed is well known, that the safeguards referred to by the Federal Structure Committee, including the powers of the Governor-General in relation to currency legislation, are essential and cannot be abated if a new Constitution is to be established with success.