asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office if, in view of the fact that no grant is being given this year for annual training, any assistance is to be given to Territorial units which are going to camp on their own account as regards the supply of Government camp equipment?

I would refer my hon. Friend to page 6 of the Secretary of State's Memorandum on the Army Estimates for the current year.

asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office the amount spent on foreign razors and blades and the amount spent on British razors and blades during the last financial year?

No orders were placed for foreign razors or blades in the financial year 1931–32. Contracts were placed for approximately 75,000 British holders and blades during this period, but it would be contrary to established practice to disclose the prices involved.

asked the Minister of Labour whether he is aware that a change has been made in the supervision of the Shoreditch Employment Exchange, and that a lady has been appointed to perform the duties previously carried out by a man; whether he is aware that the lady manageress receives a wage £150 per annum less than the previous manager; and whether he will so arrange that as the duties are comparable so the wage shall be?

The scales of salary of the various grades in the departmental class employed by this Ministry are specified in an agreement made with the staff associations concerned. The salary paid to this officer is in accordance with this agreement.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury the number of grades into which the entire staff of civil servants are divided; the number of days' holiday with full pay which are given per annum to those engaged in the respective grades; what is the largest number of civil servants on holiday at any one time during the year; and is a temporary staff engaged to do the work of those on holiday and, if so, are they paid the standard rate of pay?

The information desired by my hon. Friend in the first three parts of his question is not available in the Treasury and could only be obtained by means of a special return, the preparation of which would involve a disproportionate expenditure of time and labour. Information on the subject is contained in Chapter XV of the Report of the Royal Commission on the Civil Service (Command Paper No. 3909) to which I may perhaps refer my hon. Friend. With regard to the last part of the question the normal arrangement is that no leave substitutes are engaged. It is however, impossible to arrange for the performance of certain types of work, such as, e.g., postal or telephone traffic, without the provision of leave substitutes. Special inclusive rates of pay are normally prescribed for such temporary or casual employees.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer the names of the members of the committee on co-operative trading and taxation; the terms of reference; and when it is anticipated that the committee will commence its work?

This matter is engaging my attention, but I am not in a position to make any statement at present.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury what was the consumption of beer in barrels of standard gravity for the year 1931–32; and what was the corresponding consumption in 1913–14?

It is not possible to give strictly comparable figures since the statistics available for 1913–14 relate to Great Britain and the whole of Ireland while the statistics for 1931–32 relate to Great Britain and Northern Ireland only Subject to this qualification the approximate number of barrels of beer of a standard gravity of 1055° retained for consumption was in 1931–32 16,611,000 standard barrels and in 1913–14 35,446,000 standard barrels.

asked the Minister of Labour if he can state the number of single men and women who have been deprived of benefit under the means test through the family income being over the scale of allowances?

I regret that statistics giving the information desired are not available.

asked the Minister of Health the poundage of the general rate levied by the Warmley, Gloucestershire, Rural District Council during the year ended 31st March, 1930; the amounts of the grants claimed by this authority under the provisions of the Agricultural Rates Act, 1929, and Section 112 of the Local Government Act, 1929; and the amounts withheld by his Department?

The general rates levied in the several parishes in the Warmley Rural District during the year ended 31st March, 1930, varied between 14s. l1d. and 16s. 4d. in the pound. The grants claimed by the Rural District Council under Section 2 of the Agricultural Rates Act, 1929, and Section 112 of the Local Government Act, 1929, were £1,450 12s. l0d. and £3,430 4s. 0d. respectively. The amounts deducted under the provisos to those sections were £119 11s. 4d. and £279 19s. 6d. respectively.

asked the Minister of Health what reply has been sent from his Department to the application of a private builder in the Hatfield area, near Doncaster, for assistance for the purpose of erecting houses in that area?

This application does not appear to have reached my Department. It should, of course, be addressed in the first instance to the local authority of the area concerned.

asked the Minister of Health what action it is proposed to take following the report of the inquiry into the purchase of land by the Hull Corporation?

The City Council have published the report, and I understand that a meeting of the Council is being held to-day to consider what further action shall be taken.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he is aware that the British radio service from Rugby is styled official; and whether he will state the extent and the way in which official control over this service is exercised?

The British official wireless messages are sent out from Rugby and contain a daily survey of British news. They are drawn up in the Foreign Office under the immediate guidance of officials of that Department.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether the report of the Lytton Commission to Manchuria is to be published for the information of Members as soon as it is available?

I understand that a first report from the Lytton Commission has been received by the Secretary-General of the League. As soon as a copy reaches me, I propose to lay it as a Command Paper.

asked the Home Secretary the degree of inspection undertaken by the police officers engaged in the licensing of taximeter cabs, chars-a-bancs, omnibuses, and tramcars before any such vehicle is licensed for carrying the public; and whether he can state if these officers concerned attend road tests to determine whether the brakes of vehicles are satisfactory?

The degree of inspection is such as to establish that there is full compliance with the prescribed conditions of fitness. The efficiency of the brakes is one of the points ascertained by road tests, except in the case of tramcars. Tramcars are tested at the depots if power is available, and are also subject to frequent brake tests by inspecting officers.

asked the Home Secretary the number of accidents reported to his Department during the year 1931–32 arising from causes other than motor traffic?

If the hon. Member has in mind street accidents resulting in death or personal injury, which are attributed to vehicles other than motor vehicles, he will, I think, find the information he requires in the return for 1931, which will, I hope, be available shortly. I cannot give any figures for the current year.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if his attention has been called to the recent decision of the Glasgow Public Assistance Committee when they asked the Government to amend the Workmen's Compensation Act, 1925, providing that any payment received by an injured worker under that Act be not taken into consideration by authorities in assessing payment of relief, and pressed for an amendment of the War Pensions (Administrative Provisions) Act, 1918, to provide for the exclusion of disability pensions from consideration in assessing public assistance and transitional payments; and if he can make any statement on the matter?

I have received copies of the resolutions passed by the Public Assistance Committee of Glasgow-regarding the matters referred to, but I can hold out no hope that legislation will be introduced to achieve the objects in view.

asked the President of the Board of Trade the quantities, per head of the population of the United Kingdom, of imports retained for home consumption; and also, where possible, the home production, shown separately, of the following articles during

I am having a statement prepared incorporating the desired information, so far as it is available, and will circulate it in the OFFICIAL. REPORT as soon as possible.

asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will give, in a tabular statement, the figures for the latest available year in respect of each of the following countries: Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, so as to show the total imports from Great Britain, the total imports of British coal, and the total coal imports from all countries, including Great Britain?

The following statement shows in respect of the under-mentioned countries (a) the value of merchandise imported from the United Kingdom and (b) the quantity and value of coal imported from all sources and from the United Kingdom, respectively, in the latest years for which the particulars are available.