asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he has

Year.				Oats (grain).		Barley (grain).
				Quantity.	Declared Value.	Quantity.	Declared Value,
				Cwts.	£	Cwts.	£
1928	…	…	…	4,652,871	2,367,586	10,248,760	5,436,121
1929	…	…	…	5,354,563	2,160,843	10,262,664	4,750,045
1930	…	…	…	9,042,092	2,262,753	14,633,858	4,404,805
1931	…	…	…	7,320,961	1,558,020	13,901,854	3,727,274
NOTE.—The figures for 1931 are provisional.

asked the Minister of Health whether the statistics of smallpox cases published in the epidemiological report of the health organisation of the League of Nations are supplied by his Department; and whether the statistics of smallpox deaths are also supplied?

The official returns of the Registrar-General and other official documents relating to smallpox cases and smallpox deaths in England and Wales are regularly supplied by my Department to the Health Organisation of the League of Nations and are available to that organisation in the preparation of its epidemiological reports.

I regret that I have no precise information on this subject, but I would add that imports of flour from France were considerably less in the first two months of this year than in the same periods of 1930 and 1931.

asked the President of the Board of Trade the quantity and value of oats and barley, respectively, imported from foreign countries outside the British Empire for the years 1928, 1929, 1930, and 1931?

The following table shows the total quantity and declared value of oats and barley, respectively, imported into the United Kingdom during each year 1928 to 1931, registered as consigned from foreign countries.

asked the Minister of Labour the number of claims for transitional benefit received by each of the public assistance authorities in Lancashire, including the county authority, up to the last convenient date, and in percentage form the number of such claims totally rejected, partially, and fully met, respectively?

asked the Minister of Labour the latest figures available of cases determined under the means test, and the number allowed full benefit, partial benefit, and no benefit at all, expressed in terms of percentage; and will he also give the figures of the counties with the highest percentage and lowest percentage of claims disallowed altogether?

Public Assistance Authority.	Applications.			Payment allowed at maximum benefit rates.	Payment allowed at rates lower than the maximum benefit rates.	Needs of applicants held not to justify payment being made.
	Initial applications.	Renewals and Revisions.	Total.
				Per cent.	Per cent.	Per cent.
Lancashire Administrative County.	95,543	96,732	192,275	17·4	56·5	26·1
County Boroughs:
Barrow-in-Furness.	3,707	5,268	8,975	75·2	23·4	1·4
Blackburn	19,631	16,176	35,807	48·9	38·6	12·5
Blackpool	2,238	2,490	4,728	38·1	44·0	17·9
Bolton	11,304	12,492	23,796	33·9	42·6	23·5
Bootle	4,336	6,804	11,140	2·6	91·7	5·7
Burnley	12,246	9,566	21,812	37·3	32·0	30·7
Bury	3,148	3,716	6,864	11·7	67·4	20·9
Liverpool	45,215	72,420	117,635	19·6	73·7	6·7
Manchester	33,493	36,831	70,329	55·5	28·1	16·4
Oldham	14,617	19,006	33,623	10·3	74·1	15·6
Preston	6,766	6,087	12,853	23·8	50·5	25·7
Rochdale	6,353	4,583	10,936	7·7	60·2	32·1
St. Helens	5,650	8,982	14,632	64·4	25·1	10·5
Salford	10,181	10,065	20,246	31·1	50·2	18·7
Southport	1,351	1,676	3,027	69·4	17·9	12·7
Warrington	2,936	3,296	6,232	33·7	43·8	22·5
Wigan	6,273	8,208	14,481	49·1	39·3	11·6
Total Administrative County and County Boroughs.	284,993	324,398	609,391	28·4	53·5	18·1

The reply to the first part of the question by the hon. Member for Leigh was given on 17th March [OFFICIAL REPORT,

Period: 12th November, 1931, to 20th February, 1932.
—	Applications.			Payment allowed at maximum benefit rates.	Payment allowed at rates lower than maximum rate.	Needs of applicants held not to justify payment being made.
	Initial applications.	Renewals and Revisions.	Total.
				Per cent.	Per cent.	Per cent.
Leicestershire Administrative County.	4,321	3,575	7,896	38·8	29·7	31·5
Durham Administrative County.	59,952	85,605	145,557	90·4	8·3	1·3

I should point out that any comparisons between authorities on the basis of these statistics must be subject to many qualifi-

The following table gives determinations by public assistance authorities in Lancashire on applications for transitional payments submitted to them between 12th November, 1931, and 20th February, 1932.17th March, 1932, columns 432–3, Vol. 263]. As regards the second part, the following table gives the particulars:cations. The percentage of determinations providing for transitional payments at less than the full rate of benefit or for no payments at all in any particular area are substantially affected by various factors as, for example, the general economic conditions of the area, the extent to which the income coming into the household is commonly that of one or of a number of wage earners, the relation between the maximum scale adopted by the authority for public assistance purposes and the corresponding rate of benefit applicable, and the proportions of the determinations given on initial applications and on renewal applications and revisions. As regards the last mentioned point, statistics showing the proportion of full, partial and nil determinations separately for initial applications and renewals and revisions are not available for the whole period.

asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office whether, in view of the fact that with the introduction of a machine-gun company into the organisation of an infantry battalion the present battalion drill from and into mass is obsolete, he will consider the desirability of bringing such drill up-to-date and more in accordance with the needs of war training?

The Infantry Training Manual has been revised to bring it into line with the present organisation, and the revised edition will be issued in the near future.

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether British bulb growers are now able to meet all demands for their products; and whether he will take steps to encourage increasing the bulb-growing acreage in this country in order to meet the demand now supplied by imports from Holland?

The answer to the first part of the question is in the negative. As regards the second part, bulb production is not capable of rapid expansion, but I am taking steps with a view to stimulating its development.

asked the Minister of Agriculture how many of the factories in receipt of the beet-sugar subsidy are financed and/or controlled by foreign companies; and the amount of the subsidy received by them and what percentage the amount returns upon their capital?

The total capitalisation of British beet-sugar factories as at 31st March, 1931, was £7,243,468. I understand that of this total about 20 per cent. is held by other than British nationals, but I am unable to give the hon. Member more detailed particulars. Subsidy payments up to and including the 1930–31 season amounted to approximately £22,368,000.

asked the Minister of Transport the number of branch railway lines which have been closed either entirely or to passenger traffic only within the last three years?

I am informed by the four principal railway companies that within the last three years they have closed six branch lines entirely and 76 branch lines to passenger traffic only.

asked the Postmaster-General what are the duties of the additional Principal in the Secretary's Office; what is the number of officials who received promotion as the result of the appointment; and what was the position of the additional Principal prior to his appointment?

A temporary post for an additional Principal was recently created to cover the duties of a Principal who has been detached for service in another Department. The officer appointed to the post was formerly an Assistant Principal who was acting as Private Secretary to the Assistant Postmaster-General, and no other officer has received promotion as the result of the appointment. The Principal in question is carrying on his private secretarial work in conjunction with his other duties.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will state in detail the revenue received from the various duties imposed by the Abnormal Importations (Customs Duties) Act and the Horticultural Products (Emergency Customs Duties) Act to the latest convenient date?

I am sending the hon. Member a statement giving the information he desires.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer the number of persons paying Income Tax and the number of persons paying Surtax during each of the last three years, including the current year?

The hon. Member will find in Tables 48, 62 and 63 of the recently published 74th Annual Report of the Commissioners of Inland Revenue (Command Paper No. 4027) the latest available statistics of the numbers paying Income Tax and Surtax for past years. As regards the current year, the changes in the graduation of the Income Tax that were made in the Second Finance Act are estimated to increase the number of persons paying Income Tax by between 1,500,000 and 2,000,000.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what pro- portion of the amount of interest paid by the Exchequer on the National Debt during the last financial year was paid to investors outside Great Britain?

I regret that the information is not available.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether, in, view of the representations made to him in favour of the reduction of the Entertainments Duty on the cheapest cinema seats, he will take into consideration the equally urgent claims to reduction of places of entertainment with higher prices?

I can assure my hon. and gallant Friend that all relevant considerations, including the one mentioned by him, will be borne in mind when the incidence of the Entertainments Duty comes under review.

asked the President of the Board of Education if, in view of the improved situation, he will consider the restoration of the cuts in the pay of elementary school teachers in the near future?

I am not in a position to state when it will be possible to consider this matter.