asked the President of the Board of Trade whether his Department is engaged in collecting statistics in this country to show that the cost of sale of foreign goods dumped here is less than the cost of the production in the country of their manufacture; if not, whether he can state which Department does undertake this work; and whether it is carried on on a systematic basis?

Experience gained in the administration of Part II of the Safeguarding of Industries Act showed the great difficulty of obtaining reliable information in regard to foreign costs of production even though those costs were denned by reference to selling price in the country of manufacture. It-is, of course, open to an industry to supply any available information of this kind in the course of representations which they may submit to the Import Duties Advisory Committee.

asked the President of the Board of Trade the extent to which the machinery contents of foreign factories are being imported into this country to enable industries hitherto carried on abroad to be conducted in this country in future; and the nature and amount of textile machinery thus imported?

There is no accurate means of measurement.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether, in view of the continued importation of oil and petrol from Soviet Russia, he will consider the imposition of heavier duties upon it and the allocation of any revenues derived therefrom to the repayment of British nationals whose property was expropriated in Russia?

I would refer to the answer which my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister gave on 11th April to a question by my hon. Friend the Member for South Kensington (Sir W. Davison).

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland the total number of the staff employed by the Scottish Office in the year 1913, and the amount of their salaries; and the total numbers employed in 1931 and the total amount of their salaries?

In the year 1913 the staff of the Scottish Office numbered 51, and the expenditure on salaries in the year 1913–14 amounted to £11,851. In 1931 the staff numbered 89 and expenditure on salaries during 1931–32 amounted to £31,231. The figures for the latter year include the staff of the recently constituted Scottish Juvenile Welfare and After-Care Office in Edinburgh.

asked the Minister of Transport to state the total numbers of the staff employed at the Ministry of Transport in the year 1932 and the total amount of their salaries, not including the Railway Rates Tribunal?

The number of staff provided in the Estimate of the Ministry for the year 1932 (excluding the Railway Rates Tribunal, but including the Traffic Commissioners and their staff) is 1,188, and the gross salary cost is £357,425.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury for an analysis of the figures of staffs employed in Government Departments, given in Command Paper 4094, in the same manner as the similar Paper for 1930 was analysed for the Royal Commission on the Civil Service (Tomlin Report, paragraph 10).

The table of figures in the Command Paper to which my hon. and gallant Friend refers relate to non-industrial staffs employed in Government Departments, on the 1st April, 1932. The analysis desired is as follows:

asked the Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs what was the net number of migrants from Great Britain to the Empire during 1931, after making allowance for those who returned to Great Britain during that year; and what was the average cost per head of such outward migration, based on the total cost for 1931 of the Overseas Settlement Department, expenditure on voluntary migration assistance, and under the Empire Settlement Act, 1922?

The number of migrants from Great Britain and Northern Ireland to other parts of the Empire during 1931 was 27,151. The figures of the inward movement were 53,181. There was thus a net inward movement of 26,030 and the second part of the question does not arise. I may add, however, for the hon. Member's information that the cost of the Oversea Settlement Department for 1931 was £19,935. Grants to Voluntary Migration Societies amounted to £27,194, miscellaneous expenditure to £984, and the expenditure under the Empire Settlement Act, 1922, to £194,431. Against this must be set Appropriations-in-Aid arising from repayments of previous advances amounting to £28,989. It will be appreciated that by far the greater part of the year's expenditure was in respect of migration which had taken place in previous years.

asked the Minister of Agriculture the total number of cattle slaughtered in England for human consumption for the 12 months ending 31st May or the nearest convenient date?

The estimated numbers of fat cattle and fat calves sold for slaughter off agricultural holdings in England and Wales during the year ended 31st May, 1931, were 1,322,000 and 808,000 respectively. Corresponding figures for the year ended 31st May, 1932, will not be available until about August next. In addition approximately 279,000 fat cattle were imported for slaughter during the same period.

asked the Minister of Health what are the total assets of local authorities in England and Wales, including the value of houses, buildings, and revenue producing undertakings?

I regret that the particulars desired by the hon. Member are not available.

asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office whether he is aware that the Ordnance Department has recently been offering steel helmets for sale: whether they were graded according to condition; how many were sold; what were the sums received and the original cost; and whether any restriction accompanied their sale covering subsequent use and destination?

The War Department has recently disposed of about 110,000 wartime steel helmets of varying condition which were surplus to requirements. The helmets were not graded according to condition. It is regretted that particulars of the original cost are no longer available, and that it would be contrary to established practice to disclose the terms of sale. No restriction as to destination or subsequent use accompanied the sale.