asked the Postmaster-General what steps are taken to see that postmen do not deliver letters at unoccupied premises?

The onus of notifying the Post Office that premises are, or will be, vacant rests upon the occupant. Where such notice has been given special arrangements are made. Where no notice is given the postman has to use his discretion. Letters are not delivered at premises which on trial are found to be unoccupied, but are brought back to the office for disposal. In case of doubt, inquiry is made before the letters are treated as undeliverable.

asked the Postmaster-General what number of urban district councils in England with a population of under 20,000 have a Crown post office situated in the area; and what number of urban district councils with a population of 20,000 and over have no Crown post office in their areas?

I regret that the information is not readily available, and could not be collected without considerable trouble.

asked the First Commissioner of Works whether any inquiries have been made on behalf of Government Departments for the land on the Millbank estate or any plots on that estate; and whether any offers have been made to the Government for the Montagu House site?

Various inquiries have been made in respect of sites in the Millbank area for minor official requirements. The answer to the second part of the question is in the negative.

asked the Minister of Labour the official figure of unemployment in Great Britain and in Germany on 31st March, 1930, and on 31st March, 1931?

The number of persons on the registers of the Employment Exchanges in Great Britain was 1,677,473 on 31st March, 1930, and 2,581,030 on 30th March, 1931. In Germany 3,040,797 persons were recorded by the German public Employment Exchanges as unemployed on 31st March, 1930, and 4,743,931 on 31st March, 1931.

asked the Minister of Labour if she is aware of the dismissal of workmen by a Bolton firm which then applied to the local Exchange for workers whom they engaged at a wage below the rate which they had previously paid to the workmen dismissed; and what steps, if any, will she take to prevent a recurrence of such a use of the local Exchange?

I have no information confirming the allegation made in the first part of the question. Vacancies notified by the firm to which the hon. Member refers have been filled by the local Exchange in the ordinary way. Of the six notified since the beginning of March, four were for sheet-metal workers who were offered the rate of wage current in the trade in the district, and the other two were for learners.

asked the Minister of Labour the average numbers of women unemployed in Walsall and Birmingham, respectively, during the month of April?

The average number of women on the registers of the Walsall Employment Exchange in the month of April was 2,828. The corresponding figure for the Birmingham area was 20,607.

asked the First Commissioner of Works the pit-head price for coal delivered to the House of Commons and other Government Departments, at 32s. per ton; and what is the present price charged to Buckingham Palace for household supplies and the cost at the pit-head?

The answer to the first part of the question is 14s. 6d. per ton. My Department is not responsible for the supply of coal to Buckingham Palace.

asked the Secretary for Mines the number of mines or groups of mines that have installed dust-extracting and automatic provender-mixing plants in order to provide clean and properly mixed food for pit ponies; whether he is aware of the advantages claimed for these plants; and whether he will recommend the general adoption of these plants by all colliery companies employing horses and ponies underground?

I know of these plants and the advantages claimed for them, but I have no detailed information as to the extent and circumstances of their use in mines.

asked the Secretary for Mines the total volume and value of the output of British coalmines for each of the past 10 years?

The information is as follows:

Output and Net Selling Value of Coal raised at Mines under the Coal Mines Act in Great Britain during the years 1921 to 1930.
Year.		Total Quantity of saleable coal raised.	Total Net Selling Value at Mines.
		Tons.	£
1921*	…	163,127,968	213,594,035
1922	…	249,584,085	219,983,260
1923	…	275,965,702	259,716,788
1924	…	267,061,027	251,643,657
1925	…	243,146,880	198,964,277
1926*	…	126,230,165	123,355,309
1927	…	251,197,384	183,525,961
1928	…	237,450,878	152,506,977
1929	…	257,887,551	173,225,029
1930	…	243,862,100	165,724,428
* In these years work at coal mines was reduced by protracted disputes.

I regret that the desired information is not available. The hon. and gallant Member will, no doubt, be aware of the articles published in the Board of Trade Journal comparing the trade of Great Britain and Northern Ireland for each quarter with that of 1924. A comparison with 1913, based on 1924 prices, in respect of imports and exports of the British Isles as a whole is also given there, but the work involved in calculating the precise comparisons ho asks for would involve greater expenditure than would appear to be justified.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he can stats the names of the wholesale dealers responsible for purchasing the Russian butter, a large consignment of which arrived in London on Monday, 11th May, by the steamer "Alexei Rykov"?

No, Sir.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether the Area Gas Supply Committee appointed by the Government in January, 1929, to inquire into the possibility of developing a system of gas mains on similar lines to those in certain continental countries have carried out the recommendation of the National Fuel and Power Committee respecting the area mentioned in the annual report of the Mines Department for 1929 and, if so, with what result; and whether the Department propose to extend the inquiry into other mining areas?

The Area Gas Supply Committee reported on 31st March, 1930, that conditions were not favourable then for a gas network in the whole of the area in question, but that there was economic justification for a network in South Yorkshire if designed on certain assumptions. Two Private Bills (the South Yorkshire Gas Network Bill and the Sheffield Gas Bill) are now before Parliament seeking power to establish such a network. No further investigation is at present contemplated.

asked the Minister of Health what was the rateable value of the Borough of Ipswich and the annual income to the borough prior to the Rating and Valuation Act, 1925; what was the amount of increase in the rateable value under the operation of the Rating and Valuation Act and the annual amount realised on the present basis of rates under the increase; and the amount of the annual block grants from the Exchequer in respect of derated premises?

The following is the answer:

IPSWICH COUNTY BOROUGH.
Date or financial year.		Valuation for Rating Purposes.	Rate in £ actually levied during year.		Amount of rates collected during year.
		£	s.	d.	£
1st April, 1928 (1928–29)	…	487,514 (a)	14	0	315,341
1st April, 1929 (1929–30)	…	514,065 (b)	13	4	323,079 (d)
1st April, 1930 (1930–31)	…	478,281 (c)	13	4	292,800 (e)
(a) Prior to first valuation under Rating and Valuation Act, 1925.
(b) First valuation under Act of 1925, before derating under Local Government Act, 1929.
(c) After derating under Act of 1929.
(d) Including £14,625 grants under the Agricultural Rates Act, 1929, and Section 112 of the Local Government Act, 1929, to make good loss of rates in that year due to derating.
(e) Estimated.

According to the latest estimates, based on the figures for the standard year (1928–29), the losses on account of rates of the County Borough of Ipswich arising from the derating provisions of the Local Government Act, 1929, amount to £27,844, and the amount of the Exchequer Grant payable annually under the Act to the council of the county borough during the first fixed grant period (i.e., the three years beginning on 1st April, 1930), is £67,092. This last-mentioned amount exceeds by £12,540 the total estimated losses on account of rates and grants by the county borough arising from the operation of the Act. These figures are approximate and subject to revision.

asked the Minister of Health whether, in view of the fact that firms which are earning large profits are receiving considerable financial relief under the Local Government Act, 1929, he is prepared to institute an inquiry with a view to amending the provisions of the Act?

I am afraid that legislation on this subject is not at present practicable.

asked the Minister of Transport whether any steps have been taken to carry out the recommendations of the Standing Committee on Mineral Transport that, after 1st January, 1932, no privately-owned wagons shall be allowed to run on the public railways unless operated in connection with a recognised pool, and whether any financial assistance has been granted by the Development (Loans, Guarantees, and Grants) Act, 1929, to further the use of 20-ton wagons?

As explained in the answer given to a question by the right hon. Member for Darwen (Sir H. Samuel) on 25th February, the committee have been asked to proceed on the lines suggested in their report with the further consideration of the question of pooling mineral wagons, and I am informed that they are examining the possibility of working out a practical pooling scheme. As regards the latter part of the question, grants have been authorised under the Development Act for works at the docks belonging to the Great Western Railway Company in South Wales and the harbours of Glasgow and Leith, which would provide additional facilities for 20-ton wagons.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he will give the House information regarding the present situation in Cyprus; whether he is aware that a number of arrests of unemployed workers have recently been made by the police at Nicosia and Limassol; how many unemployed workers have been arrested; the reason for their arrest or the offence for which they are charged; and the present strength of the Cyprus police and what percentage of its members is British?

With regard to the first part of the question, the present situation in Cyprus calls for no special statement. As regards the second part, the Governor has not reported any such incidents as are mentioned in the question. If anything serious had occurred I have no doubt that it would have been reported to the Secretary of State. With regard to the last part, the strength of the Cyprus police force on 31st December last was 769; so far as I am aware, all its members are British subjects, and, with the exception of some four or five officers, are all locally recruited.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury whether he will furnish for the information of the House full information of the basis of the systems of remuneration for assessing and for collecting Income Tax, respectively?

Assessors and collectors of taxes are paid on a statistical basis by reference to the burden of the work done in each individual case.