asked the Minister of Health if he will state the number of able-bodied persons in receipt of relief from the public assistance committees in Lancashire at the latest date at which such information is available; whether such relief is conditional on task work being done; and, if so, the nature of such work?

During the week ended 19th September last, 12,333 able-bodied men were in receipt of out-relief in the County of Lancashire and the 17 county boroughs in the county. In nearly all of these areas a certain proportion of the men were required to perform work

asked the Minister of Health if he will state under what authority he has acted in reducing the old age pension of inmates at Townley hospital from 10s. to 1s. weekly?

Under Section 2 (1) (d) of the Old Age Pensions Act, 1911, the value of any benefit or privilege enjoyed by a person must be taken into account in calculating the person's means for old age pension purposes. I am advised that the cost of maintenance in an institution must be regarded as means for this purpose. My decision on certain cases relating to inmates of Townley Hospital which were submitted to me on appeal was based on the ascertained average cost of maintenance in the institution, which, after allowing for the deductions authorised under the Old Age Pensions Act, 1924, resulted in a pension rate of 1s. a week.

asked the Minister of Health if he will state the number of persons in receipt of Poor Law relief in the city of Plymouth, specifying categories, for the months of July and August, 1931, respectively?

Statement showing the number of persons in receipt of poor relief in the city of Plymouth, on Saturday, 25th July and Saturday, 29th August, 1931, respectively:

asked the Minister of Labour how many persons, men and women, of the age of 65 or over are employed in insurable occupations?

Health and pensions contributions are paid during the course of a half-year in respect of about 340,000 persons over the age of 65, of whom about two-thirds are engaged in occupations also attracting unemployment contributions. The number of persons in employment at any particular date is substantially less than this figure would indicate since little more than one-half of the cards are fully stamped, the remainder containing stamps for anything from one to 25 weeks' employment. Separate figures for men and women are not available.

asked the Minister of Labour if he will give for each Employment Exchange in the county of Surrey, exclusive of the county borough of Croydon, the number of registered unemployed and

asked the Minister of Labour if he can state the total number of aliens employed in this country at the present time, together with the numbers engaged in each respective category of work?

Statistics showing the number of aliens employed in this country are obtained only from the Census. The figures of the 1931 Census are not yet available. At the population Census of 1921 it was found that the total number of "occupied" foreign-born persons of alien and unstated nationality in Great Britain was 231,868, including 131,063 males and 100,805 females. An analysis of these totals by occupation will be found in the occupations volume de rived from the Census of 1921. The figures include unemployed as well as employed persons.

The following table gives the information desired:

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury when the issue of the July statements of the staffs in Government. Departments may he expected.

It has been decided, in the interests of economy, that these statements shall, in future, be presented at six-monthly intervals instead of quarterly intervals as hitherto. The next statement will show the position as at the 1st October, 1931.

asked the hon. and gallant Member for the Rugby Division, as representing the Charity Commisioners, what action the Commissioners propose to take with regard to the estate known as the Angell Stockwell Estate; and whether there are any claimants for this estate?

I have been asked to answer this question as claims in respect to the Angell Estate in the neighbourhood of Stockwell have been made not against the Charity Commissioners but against the Ecclesiastical Commissioners. There is not any claim now pending, so far as is known to the Ecclesiastical Commissioners; and in any case a claim against the Ecclesiastical Commissioners would be misdirected as they are not and never have been in possession of the property which is understood to be included under the description of the Angell Estate.

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether he can state what percentage of cattle in England and Wales has been reported tubercular; and the number of cattle slaughtered in 1930, or nearest year, because of tuberculosis?

The precise figures asked for are not available. The Tuberculosis Order, 1925, makes it obligatory to report cattle suspected of being affected with certain forms of tuberculosis specified in the Order. The following figures relate to action taken under the provisions of the Order in 1930: