asked the Home Secretary whether his attention has been called to the refusal of certain London stipendiary magistrates to take statutory declarations under the Vaccination Act, 1907, when sitting in open court; and whether he will send a communication to the London stipendiary magistrates on this subject?

My Department has received no complaints of the nature indicated for some time past. If the hon. Member will send me particulars of the cases which he has in mind, I will consider whether any action on my part is called for.

asked the Minister of Health if he will furnish figures of the receipts and expenditure of the National Radium Trust up to 31st December, 1931?

I am informed by the National Radium Trust that the total amount received by the Trust from its inception in July, 1929, to 31st December, 1931, from public subscriptions, Moneys voted by Parliament and interest on temporary investments was £258,536 13s. 1d. The payments made in the same period (excluding those made by way of temporary investment) were as follow:

	£	s.	d.
Purchase of radium and containers	217,726	11	2
Advances to Radium Commission	2,700	0	0
Testing and measurement of radium	1,616	0	0
Other expenses of the Trust	562	8	2
Total	£222,604	19	4

asked the Minister of Health if it is at the request of the Ministry that the West Middlesex sewage scheme has been suspended; and whether, having regard to the need for this scheme and the number of persons who would be employed, he will urge the Middlesex County Council to proceed with the undertaking?

I am.informed that the West Middlesex sewage scheme has not been suspended. Nine contracts, of a total value of well over £1,250,000, have been entered into by the county council, six of which are in active operation. Not less than 725 men are already employed on the scheme.

asked the Minister of Health if he is aware that there are many cases of persons in receipt of old age pensions who want to spend their remaining days with sons or daughters who have gone to live outside His Majesty's Dominions, but they are faced with losing their pension; and will he consider amending the Old Age Pensions Act so that they would be able to retain it?

I have no information as to the number of cases of the kind to which the hon. Member refers, but I should be surprised to find that the number is appreciable. With regard to the second part of the question, I am afraid that, apart from other considerations, administrative difficulties would preclude the payment of pensions outside His Majesty's Dominions.

asked the Minister of Health how many schemes under the existing Town Planning Acts are in course of preparation; the year in which the resolution to prepare each of the said schemes was passed; and the estimated amount of compensation that will become payable if and when such schemes are finally approved by the Minister?

992 schemes are in course of preparation. Resolutions were passed or authority given for the preparation of schemes in 35 cases before 1915, in 60 cases before 1920, in 175 cases before 1925 and in 722 cases in 1925 and subsequent years. I will send my hon. Friend the figures for each year. No estimates of probable compensation for injurious affection due to the making of schemes can in the nature of the ease be made till the schemes are settled, but proposals are carefully scrutinised from this aspect before approval, and the schemes hitherto approved have not, I believe, entailed material compensation.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether any decision has yet been reached as to converting part of the War Loans at an early date?

No, Sir.

asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office the number of enlistments in Supplementary Reserve Category C in each of the last five years and in each month of the present year; and the reason for the payment of bounties to men who are to receive no peace-time training?

The number of enlistments into Category C of the Supple- mentary Reserve during each of the last five recruiting years and in the months

Recruiting year (1st October to 30th September).				Number enlisted.	1st October, 1931, to 27th February, 1932.
					Month			Number enlisted.
1926–27	…	…	…	645	October, 1931	…	…	107
1927–28	…	…	…	463	November, 1931	…	…	128
1928–29	…	…	…	3,619	December, 1931	…	…	185
1929–30	…	…	…	4,788	January, 1932	…	…	114
1930–31	…	…	…	1,617	February, 1932	…	…	97
					Total		…	631

Bounties are paid to these Reservists in consideration of a liability to foreign service whenever called upon.

asked the Minister of Labour, for the years 1931–2 and 1932–3, respectively, the estimated amounts of Exchequer grants payable in respect of schemes approved by the Unemployment Grants Committee, and of payments out of the Road Fund in respect of special road schemes earmarked for relief of unemployment?

The amounts of the Exchequer grants which it is estimated will become payable in 1931–32 and 1932–33 in respect of schemes approved by the Unemployment Grants Committee are:

				£
1931–32	…	…	…	3,000,000
1932–33	…	…	…	3,500,000

Payments in those years out of the Road Fund in respect of special schemes for the relief of unemployment (including liabilities taken over from the Unemployment Grants Committee in connection with certain road schemes) are estimated to be:

				£
1931–32	…	…	…	8,800,000
1932–33	…	…	…	5,420,000

asked the Minister of Labour the total number of cases beard by the public assistance authorities, and the number which have received full pay-

These figures are available only for the areas covered by public assistance authorities. I regret, therefore, that separate statistics for Islington and West Islington are not available.

asked the Minister of Labour if he is aware that considerable dissatisfaction is prevalent in Lancashire with the existing regulations governing the application of the means test; that brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law with whom unemployed persons are residing are being penalised under such regulations; and will he consider taking such steps, either of a legislative or other character, as will in future relieve these relatives of the responsibility the means test regulations enforce of housing, feeding, and clothing their unemployed brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law?

I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply given to-day to oral questions of a similar nature.

asked the Minister of Labour the number of unemployed signing on at Middleton-in-Teesdale, Barnard Castle, Cockfield, St. John's Chapel, Stanhope, Wolsingham, Esh Wining and Lanchester for the following dates last week in January, April, June, September, December, 1931, and January, 1932?

The following table gives the information desired, so far as it is available:

Persons on the Registers of certain Employment Exchanges.
Employment Exchange.		26th January, 1931.	27th April, 1931.	29th June, 1931.	28th September, 1931.	21st December, 1931.	25th January, 1932.
Barnard Castle	…	249	145	192	253	287	290
Cockfield	…	1,022	991	928	902	916	950
Lancheste	…	894	1,319	1,428	1,636	1,524	1,461
Middleton-in-Teesdale	…	170	83	54	86	197	291
Stanhope	…	159	150	124	447	460	612
Wolsingham	…	218	136	164	173	223	303
Separate figures are not available for St. John's Chapel and Esh Wining.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether, in view of the need for promoting trade between Great Britain and Scandinavia, he can state the extent to which international agreements exist under which British factories are not able to sell their products in Scandinavia despite the demand for their output?

I regret that the desired information is not available.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what steps have been taken to assist in the formation of an industrial development board for the north-east coast?

Meetings of development organisation within the area to which the hon. Member refers were attended by a Government representative in the Spring of last year, and attention was drawn to the advantages which might accrue from the formation of a single organisation covering the whole area. I understand that progress has recently been made towards the formation of such an organisation, and my Department are in touch with the movement.

asked the Minister of Transport for what reasons it has been decided to stop work on the Blackrod by-pass road; whether he is aware that the job is not far off completion; and, in view of the deterioration of the foundations that must must ensue if the job is not completed, will he reconsider the decision to prevent its completion?

Work is being suspended by the county council in response to the Government's request for their cooperation in securing the limitation in road expenditure demanded by the financial situation. The road is about half finished, and I am satisfied that the county council will take such steps as will safeguard the work until such time as local and national finances will allow of its resumption.

asked the Minister of Transport when the liabilities of the Road Fund in respect of commitments already sanctioned will cease to present an annual deficit; what amounts have been advanced from the fund in the aggregate since 31st March, 1931; and what is the present position of the fund?

I hope that it may not be necessary to ask Parliament to supplement the ordinary income of the Road Fund after next year. The payments out of the Road Fund from 1st April, 1931, to 29th February, 1932, amount to £26,432,000, and the Vote had been drawn upon to the extent of approximately £3,000,000.

asked the Home Secretary what were the kinds of motor vehicles which caused the 17 fatal accidents to pedestrians by skidding, in the year 1931, in London; and in how many cases was the fatality attributed to the speed of the motor vehicle?

The following vehicles were involved in these accidents: One motor omnibus, one motor coach, one motor cab, five private motor cars, seven commercial motor vehicles, one motor cycle and one pedal cycle. In no case could the fatality be said to be attributable to the speed of the vehicle concerned.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Air the number and the situation of Air Force aerodromes in Egypt, Palestine, Mesopotamia, and India; and which of these aerodromes are used by Imperial Airways?

Aerodromes at present occupied by the Royal Air Force are situated at Aboukir, Heliopolis, Helwan, Ismailia and Abu Sueir in Egypt (5); at Amman and Ramleh in Palestine (2); at Khartoum in the Sudan (1); at Mosul, Hinaidi and Shaibah in Iraq (3); at Karachi, Lahore, Ambala, Kohat, Risalpur, Quetta and Peshawar in India (7). Three of these—Heliopolis, Khartoum and Shaibah—are used by Imperial Airways. In addition the company uses an unoccupied Royal Air Force aerodrome at Baghdad West, in Iraq, an emergency landing ground at Semakh in Palestine, and landing grounds at Assiut, Luxor and Assuan in Egypt.

asked the Minister of Agriculture what precautions are taken by his Department to ensure that hay and straw are not imported into this country from countries where foot-and-mouth disease is prevalent?

The importation of hay and straw from all countries except those known to be free from foot-and-mouth disease is prohibited by the Ministry's Foreign Hay and Straw Orders, with the exception of hay and straw used at the time of importation as packing for merchandise and manufactured straw not intended for use as fodder or litter for animals. The Footand-Mouth Disease (Packing Materials) Order of 1925, however, prohibits any hay and straw imported as packing for merchandise from being brought into contact with animals.

asked the Minister of Agriculture what was the total production of wheat in Britain in the year 1931; and what proportion was millable wheat?

The production of wheat in Great Britain in 1931 was estimated at 1,010,000 tons or 4,545,000 quarters (504 lbs.). Information is not available as to the proportion of millable quality wheat in any given year, but it has been estimated that on an average about 85 per cent. of the crop is of mill-able quality.

asked the Minister of Agriculture what was the quantity of potatoes imported in the months of October, November, and December, 1931, and January, 1932, the countries of origin, and the average wholesale price; and if he will furnish figures of the estimated stock of British-grown potatoes?

Total imports of potatoes into the United Kingdom during the months October, 1931, to January, 1932, and the countries of consignment are as shown in the following table:Countries whence consigned and Total Imports during four months, October, 1931, to January, 1932.

			Tons.
Germany	…	…	161,259
Netherlands	…	…	127,138
France	…	…	3,301
Spain	…	…	1
Canary Islands	…	…	95
Channel Islands	…	…	21
Other Countries	…	…	174,884
Total	…	…	466,699

The average wholesale price of first quality imported maincrop potatoes has ranged from about 120s. per ton in October, 1931, to about 175s. per ton in January, 1932. Estimates of the stocks of potatoes in Great Britain are not available, but according to returns furnished by the Ministry's crop reporters, it was estimated that on 1st January, 1932, stocks of potatoes on farms in England and Wales amounted to about 1,000,000 tons.

asked the Minister of Agriculture the extent to which beet-sugar factories in this country subsidised by the State are importing foreign raw sugar for the purpose of refining; and what steps are contemplated to prevent such refining from benefiting under the subsidy arrangements?

During the 1930–31 off-season, the beet-sugar factories in Great Britain refined 195,000 tons of imported raw sugar, but I cannot say to what extent the factories intend to refine imported raw sugar during the current off season. Sugar refined from imported paws does not receive subsidy.

asked the Minister of Agriculture the total net profits made by the National Stud since its inception, and the profit or loss made during the last 12 months?

The total net profits of the National Stud since its establishment in January, 1916, to 31st December, 1930, amounted to £118,182. The trading account for the 12 months ending 31st December, 1931, is still under examination, but it is estimated that there will be a net loss of approximately £21,000 on that year's trading.