asked the Minister of Labour the reason for the delay from June to December in the hearing of the Grigglestone miners' appeal by the umpire; and whether such delays are due to shortage of staff?

I understand the appeal in this case was received in October and not in June, as suggested by the hon. Member, and it is to be heard by the umpire to-day. In view of the necessity for further inquiries in the case, my right hon. Friend is satisfied that there has been no undue delay.

Is the hon. Gentleman sure that there was no application made before October, and is it not too long to keep cases waiting six months after the event?

The delay was not the fault of the Department. If there was any fault at all, it was that of the people concerned in not bringing the case before the Department.

But what about the umpire? Is he too busy to deal with cases that come before him within six months?

It is not a question of six months. The appeal in this case was only received by the Department in October, so that the case has taken less than two months. In view of the difficulties of the case, involving a lot of detailed inquiries as to what happened, as to which men were employed and which were not, and so on, there has been no undue delay at all.

Was the original delay due to the mine workers who lodged an appeal or to the local Employment Exchange; and is it not the case that a particular length of time is allowed before an appeal is sent in?

Does not the fault actually apply to the trade union responsible for looking after these men?

I should like notice of that question, but I understand that the fault is entirely due to the trade union concerned.

asked the Minister of Labour whether he has any information regarding the transfer of Messrs. Stewart and Lloyd's works from Mossend, Lanarkshire, to Corby, Northampton, and as to the number of workers who will be unemployed as the result of that transfer?

I understand that it is the intention of Messrs. Stewarts and Lloyds to close the greater part of their Mossend works at the end of this year, as part of a scheme under which products hitherto manufactured at those works will be produced at Messrs. David Colville's works at Clydebridge and the plant from the Mossend works will be transferred to new works which are being erected at Corby for the production of steel manufactures formerly imported from abroad. As regards the employment position, I understand that approximately 900 workpeople who have been working intermittent short time at the Mossend works are likely to be affected; but, on the other hand, the workers in the Clyde-bridge area may be expected to benefit as a result of the transfer of work to that area. It is hoped that it may be possible for a proportion of the workers displaced from the Mossend works to obtain employment at Corby; a small number have already been transferred to that area. We are keeping in close touch with the position with a view to rendering all possible assistance in placing the displaced workpeople in further employment.

What facilities will the Ministry of Labour grant for the removal of these men and their families who will be transferred from the Mossend works to Corby?

Perhaps the hon. Lady will put that question on the Paper, and I shall be glad to give her an answer.

Did the hon. Member say it was hoped that it would be possible to give some of these men employment?

I said, "It is hoped that it may be possible for a proportion of the workers displaced. … to obtain employment," and that, we understand, is actually the hope, that we shall get a proportion of them transferred.

asked the Minister of Labour (1) the number of workers in Italy and the number unemployed at the latest date;

(2) the number of workers and the number unemployed in Germany at the latest date?

As the reply is long, and contains a number of figures, I will, if I may, circulate it in the OFFICIAL REPORT.

In giving figures about unemployment in those countries, does the hon. Gentleman bear in mind that there is a different measurement of unemployment in them?

Yes, and I think that when the hon. Member reads the rather long answer, he will find that due allowance has been made for that fact.

asked the Minister of Labour whether he will make inquiries as to the number of actors, actresses, musicians, and other theatrical employes now out of work and as to how this number has increased during the past live years; and whether, in future, he will arrange a separate category for such per

asked the Minister of Labour whether he is aware that, despite the general decrease in unemployment during the past 12 months, the percentage of persons unemployed in the entertainments group has risen from 24.3 to 24.6; and whether he will investigate to what extent this increased percentage is due to the closing of theatres or their conversion to cinemas, with a view to seeking a remedy of the matter?

The statistics of employment and unemployment among insured persons in the "Entertainments and Sports" classification show that at 23rd October, 1933, the percentage rate of unemployment among insured males in Great Britain was 23.3 as compared with 24.3 at 24th October, 1932. During the period of 12 months the number of insured males in employment in that group increased by about 6,600. In these circumstances my right hon. Friend does not propose to undertake the investigation suggested by my hon. Friend.

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that much of this unemployment is sons in the Ministry of Labour statistics in order that it may be possible to have an official record of unemployment in the British theatrical and musical industries?

As the reply includes a number of figures, I will, if I may, circulate a statement in the OFFICIAL REPORT.

I have said that the number of insured Males in employment during the period mentioned has increased by 6,600.

asked the Minister of Labour if, taking the figures of 1933 and 1932, respectively, he will state the number of seasonal workers in Blackpool who drew unemployment benefit in each on-season; what were the aggregate amounts of money they drew; what was the total of all seasonal workers in each period specified; and what was the aggregate of contributions to the funds in each period from such workers, their employers, and the State together?

I regret that the information desired is not available in respect of the 1932 on-season. An inquiry by sample into the benefit drawn by seasonal workers during the 1933 season is now proceeding, and I will communicate with my hon. and gallant Friend when the results are available. I should add that the figures will relate to the whole country and not to any particular place.

asked the Minister of Labour how much of the existing debt of the Unemployment Insurance Fund was incurred otherwise than in the payment of standard benefit; and what is the total sum paid out since the institution of the fund otherwise than in standard benefit?

Separate accounts were not kept for standard benefit before 1929. In respect of the benefit years commencing after March, 1929, the accounts of the Unemployment Fund have shown separately the expenditure (including cost of administration) on transitional benefit and transitional payments; this expenditure has amounted to £141,000,000, up to the end of October, 1933, and has been wholly borne by the Exchequer.

asked the Minister of Labour whether he is aware that at Grimsby, where a new fish dock is being constructed and other works are in progress, local unemployed men have been refused green cards at the Exchange and preference given to unemployed men who have come in from other areas; and whether he will have inquiries made into the matter?

My right hon. Friend is having inquiry made and will communicate with the hon. Member as soon as possible.

asked the Minister of Labour if, in order to ensure the maximum absorption into specific industries for which they have been trained under the Unemployment Bill, His Majesty's Government will so amend the Trade Disputes Act, 1927, as to preclude the trade unions refusing to permit trainees to accept employment in such appropriate industry?

I am afraid my hon. Friend's suggestion is neither necessary nor practicable.

Will my hon. Friend bear in mind that in 1924, after the State had spent some £150,000 on the training of ex-service men in the building trades, the trade unions refused to accept them for that specific purpose, and will the Government take precautions against a recurrence of such action?

I do not as a rule find myself in agreement with the objections which are from time to time raised by trade unions in this connection, but we must recognise that they have a point of view that they are entitled to put, and I think it is much better dealt with by methods of discussion than by any attempt at statutory regulations.

Will the Government assure the House that such discussions will take place, in order to avoid a recurrence of these things?

They are continually taking place.

asked the Minister of Labour what would be the estimated cost of bringing within unemployment insurance insured persons, not belonging to excluded occupations, with incomes between £250 and £350, or £250 and £500, respectively?

asked the Minister of Labour if lie has made any estimate of the financial consequences of including non-manual workers up to an income limit of £350 in the unemployment insurance scheme on the basis of present contributions and benefits?

Information is not avilable on which to make any reliable estimate of the financial consequences of including non-manual workers up to an income limit of £350 or £500 in the unemployment insurance scheme. I would, however, refer the hon. Members to paragraphs 341 and 342 of the Report of the Royal Commission on Unemployment Insurance, which contain some observations on the subject, including an estimate of the increased income, but not of the increased expenditure, which would arise if this income limit were raised to £500.

asked the Minister of Labour whether he will estimate the cost of extending to all unemployed persons without limit of income, provided that they are normally in full- time employment, the right of applying to and receiving assistance from the unemployment assistance board proposed to be set up under the Unemployment Bill?

As there is no information available as to the extent of unemployment among, or the resources available to, the persons covered by the question, I regret that it is not possible to give any estimate of the cost of any such extension.

Does the hon. Member think it fair that genuinely unemployed persons should be debarred from all right of applying for unemployment assistance except through the Poor Law?

That is a totally different question.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Education the number of provided and non-provided schools the premises of which have been condemned by the Board and placed in division A of the black list as being unsuitable for continued recognition and incapable of improvement; and if the list of such schools can be furnished by a White Paper, or otherwise, showing the date when each school was black-listed?

The numbers of provided and of non-provided schools still included in Class A of the Black List, which was drawn up in 1925 and 1926, are respectively 77 and 138. As every local education authority has been furnished with a list of the schools in its own area, my Noble Friend sees no reason for the publication of a return in the form of a White Paper; but he is sending the hon. Member a list of the schools still included in Class A of the Black List.

In view of the fact that the list has not been published for a great many years, and that it would be an excellent expenditure to make the schools adequate for our children, cannot the list be published for the general convenience?

As the authorities have their own lists, it is hardly necessary to publish it as a White Paper.

Is it not a fact that the number of such schools is continually diminishing?

That is the fact.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Education whether he has considered the proposal of the Hove Education Committee to convert the Ellen Street provided school into a non-provided school; and whether, before sanctioning the grant of a long lease of the Ellen Street school to the managers of the George Street Church of England school, he will ensure that the rights of appointment of, and control over, the teaching staff will be retained by the local authority?

Proposals in this matter have been submitted to the Board, but my Noble Friend is not in a position to give any decision upon them until the requirements of Section 18 of the Education Act, 1921, have been satisfied. He understands that notices of the proposal have been published as required by that Section, but that the statutory period of publication has not yet expired. It would obviously be improper for my Noble Friend to prejudge any of the issues involved until the publication period has expired and the case comes before the Board for formal determination.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Education if he will give details of the increase in technical education facilities contemplated in those districts where unemployment is greatest?

It is not contemplated that any increase in the facilities for technical education should be specially related to districts where unemployment is greatest, since I have no reason to think that existing facilities are, generally speaking, inadequate, but I shall of course be glad to receive from my hon. Friend any definite suggestions that he has to make. The Government's proposals for instruction and training for the unemployed, both juveniles and adults, are contained in the Unemployment Bill. The Board of Education will co-operate in helping to secure the provision of such instruction and training.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Education what steps he proposes to take, in places where slum-clearance schemes are resulting in movements of population, to provide transport from the new areas to which the population has moved to the schools formerly attended by the children concerned, or to provide other assistance to these schools?

The question of the necessity or desirability of making arrangements for the transport of school children from one district to another is one for the consideration of the local education authority in the light of the particular local circumstances. My Noble Friend is not clear to what the last part of the question refers, but he would remind my hon. Friend that a school which is recognised by the Board of Education as a public elementary school must continue to be maintained by the local education authority so long as it is necessary and fulfils the requirements of the Education Acts and of the Code.

Does the hon. Gentleman realise that in slum clearance schemes denominational children go into another area where a school does not exist, so that schools will have to be provided for them?

As my hon. Friend is aware, the Board of Education have no power to give financial assistance for the building of non-provided schools.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Education whether representatives of the National Society of Arts Masters have visited the School of Art in Aberdeen with a view to the recognition of its diploma in England on terms similar to those accorded to the Edinburgh College of Art?

My Noble Friend is not aware of this visit. He assumes that my hon. Friend refers to the treatment of diplomas in art as equivalent to university degrees in connection with the calculation of the salaries of teachers under the Burnham Scales. This is a, matter for the consideration of the Burnham Committee.

Will my hon. Friend make representations to the Burnham Committee with a view to ascertaining whether the standard in Aberdeen is in any way inferior to other courses?

Will my hon. Friend inform the Committee that we have enough Scotsmen already?

I shall, of course, be ready to pass on to the Committee any representations that may be made to me on the matter, hut I cannot undertake to attempt to influence the Committee's decision.

asked the Minister of Health the estimated number of houses in England and Wales at the present time per 1,000 of the population and, for comparison, the corresponding figure in 1929 and in 1913, respectively?

The estimated numbers are 245.8, 230.8 and 215.6.

What does the right hon. Gentleman consider to be the ideal to be aimed at?

asked the Minister of Health how many houses have been completed by Iota: authorities without State assistance in the administrative county of London, and in the rest of England and Wales, respectively, during the half-years ended 31st March, 1932, 30th September, 1932, 31st March, 1933, and 30th September, 1933, respectively?

As the answer involves a number of figures, I will, with the hon. Member's permission, circulate it in the OFFICIAL REPORT.

May I ask whether the curve shown by those figures is in an upward or downward direction?

I should be sorry to deduce the curve of a sudden in this House. Perhaps the hon. and gallant Member will be as well able to do it as I am when he gets the table.

Does the table include houses built outside the administrative County of London by authorities inside the administrative county?

The table gives in the first column information of the administrative County of London, and in the second column of England and Wales.

asked the Minister of Health whether he can state the superficial area of the 240 houses now being erected at Aldershot by private enterprise under the Housing (Financial Provisions) Act, 1933, and the average superficial area of non-parlour houses provided by local authorities in England and Wales during the period January to October, 1933, respectively; and what steps he has taken or will take to ensure that all houses erected by private builders in the Greater London region under the Housing Act, 1933, are of a proper standard for the working classes?

I am informed that the superficial area of the houses mentioned by the hon. Member is 662 square feet in some cases and 653 in others. The average area of houses provided by local authorities during the period mentioned is 728 feet. The minimum dimensions of houses erected under the Housing (Financial Provisions) Act, 1933, are governed by Section 92 of the Housing Act, 1925, of which Section 2 of the 1933 Act is an extension.

Does the right hon. Gentleman consider that the dimensions which he has given are a satisfactory result of the legislation which we have passed?

I think the hon. and gallant Member is under a misapprehension. I must point out that the dimensions are respectively 42 and 33 square feet in excess of the minimum dimensions laid down for my guidance by Parliament.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury what is the minimum rate of interest at the present time on advances made by the Public Works Loan Board to local authorities for the purposes of housing and slum clearance; and when the last reduction was made?

:These advances are made at the minimum current rate for loans from the Local Loans Fund, which was reduced from 4 per cent. 3⅝ per cent. on the 11th April last.

May I ask whether it is proposed to make any further reduction, and when, in view of the glut of money awaiting employment.

Only when the situation permits.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer the total amount of fines collected by the customs authorities in compromised cases of evasion of import duties for the past 12 months; and whether he is prepared in future to arrange for the publication of details of such cases with a view to diminishing the number of instances in which the payment of customs duty is evaded?

The total amount of compromise fines collected in the year ended 31st October, 1933, in tespect of offences of all kinds against the customs laws relating to imported goods was approximately £109,000. I fear that I cannot accept my hon. Friend's suggestion as to publication; the great majority of these cases are of a petty nature and I doubt whether the object he has in mind would be served thereby. In serious cases the normal rule is to take proceedings in the courts.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that a change over of the duties from ad valorem duties to specific duties will assist the Exchequer very much in regard to these evasions in many instances?

I will consider that point.

asked the President of the Board of Trade (1) what percentage of goods, in tons, imported into Britain from foreign countries during the past 12 months was carried in British bottoms;

(2) what percentage of goods, in tons, imported into Britain from the Empire during the past 12 months was carried in British bottoms?

I regret that the desired information is not available.

May I ask what steps the Government are taking to increase the quantities of imports that are carried by British as opposed to foreign ships?

Perhaps I had better answer my hon. Friend's question in a. different form. During the year 1932, of the net tonnage of vessels that entered with cargo at ports in the United Kingdom from the Empire, the proportion of British vessels was 92 per cent. The British proportion of such tonnage from foreign countries was 49.7 per cent.

asked the President of the Board of Trade (1) whether he can yet make any announcement with regard to the Anglo-Soviet Trade Agreement;

(2) whether he can assure the House that the conclusion of the Anglo-Soviet Trade Agreement will not be made dependent upon the settlement of debts due by the Union of Socialist Soviet Republics to private individuals or companies;

(3) the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he has any information to show that the Government of the Union of Socialist Soviet Republics are prepared to enter into direct negotiations with the officials of the Lena Goldfields Company in order to reach a settlement of the financial dispute between that company and the Government of the Union of Socialist Soviet Republics?

The negotiations for a new trade agreement are still proceeding, and progress has been made. I cannot make any further statement at this stage. As regards questions which, though not directly forming part of the trade negotiations, have been the subject of discussion during those negotiations, I cannot say more at this moment than that those matters are engaging the close attention of His Majesty's Government.

Are the difficulties that have to be overcome connected specifically with trade, or with other extraneous matters?

Before the President of the Board of Trade replies, may I ask whether he is taking into account the visible balance of trade between the two countries in these negotiations?

Oh, yes; I can tell my hon. Friend that, of course, that is being taken into account, and I hope it will be provided for. In reply to the question of the right hon. Gentleman the Leader of the Opposition, the trade agreement is concerned with trade.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs the general provisions of the liquor marketing agreement which became operative on the 5th December between this country and the United States; if any quota has been fixed for the import of liquor into the United States from this country or other countries in the British Commonwealth; and if any proposals for reciprocal agreements relating to American imports to Great Britain have been received by His Majesty's Government?

No such agreement as my hon. Friend describes is in existence. The effective total quota for the United Kingdom has not yet been determined. I understand that certain proposals covering the transitional period from the 6th December to the 31st January next are now under consideration, and that it is possible that during that period a quantity equivalent to four months' supplies of the minimum annual quotas will be admitted at once in any event, but conversations on the subject are still proceeding with the United States Government, and it is not at present possible to give figures.

Can my hon. Friend say when I may put down a question in the future, so that I may get a definite answer on the points embodied in this question?

Perhaps my hon. Friend will allow me to communicate with him when our conversations are completed.

Thank you.

asked the Minister of Agriculture if he will state what steps he is taking to safeguard the operation of the milk marketing scheme, in view of the prospect that in the early summer about one-half of the milk output of this country will have to be sold at manufacturing prices with serious loss to the producers; and whether the Government will now announce their intention to restrict imports sufficiently to restore a remunerative price for butter, cheese, and other milk products manufactured in this country?

As regards imports of butter and cheese, I am not in a position to add to the replies which I gave on 27th November.

As regards imports of other processed milks, my hon. Friend will be aware that such imports have been regulated by voluntary agreement since June last. Proposals for regulation during the first quarter of next year are being communicated to the exporting countries concerned and the Markets Supply Committee will in due course be asked to advise as to the steps which ought in their opinion to be taken to regulate imports of those products after March next.

Is the right hon. Gentleman fully informed of the seriousness with which the Marketing Board regards the position that will arise next spring; and, in view of the necessity of planning ahead in the industry, can he intimate that some early announcement will be made of the Government's intentions?

Yes, Sir, I am fully aware of the seriousness with which the Milk Board regards the question, and I had an opportunity of discussing it personally with them before meeting members of this House.

May we expect an early announcement?

Will the right hon. Gentleman tell us how long it will be before we can get a really good prospect of scarcity?

The question of avoiding a scarcity is a question of avoiding the collapse of the milk market, which would cause a scarcity of liquid milk.

Will the right hon. Gentleman consider the prohibition of the importation of skimmed condensed milk, the consumption of which is prohibited in practically every civilised country, except our own?

I have given in my answer an indication that we are dealing with that question of condensed skimmed milk, but I would point out that there is a large manufacture of it in this country, which I desire to see extended, and therefore I would be opposed to prohibiting it.

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether he is aware that certain patent breakfast foods, of which wheat forms the chief component part, do not contribute to the wheat quota on the same basis as bread, on which purchasers have to pay approximately ½d. tax on each loaf of bread; and if he will take steps to rectify this state of affairs?

I should explain to my hon. Friend that the quota payment under the Wheat Act, 1932, is not levied upon wheat but upon flour, as defined in the Act, whether the flour is used in bread making, or is used in the manufacture of patent breakfast foods, or for any other purpose.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he is prepared to bring in legislation with a view to placing the power to grant licences in the hands of the sheriff, in view of the conviction on a charge of bribery of two magistrates at Ayr High Court and recent events in Glasgow?

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply which he received from my right hon. Friend yesterday, on the subject of legislation to amend the Licensing (Scotland) Acts.

May I ask the hon. Gentleman if his attention has been drawn to the fact that those two magistrates in Ayr, and the Provost of the

Does the Minister of Agriculture now admit that the result of the quota has been an increase of ½d. on the loaf?

asked the Minister of Agriculture how much money has been advanced to agricultural marketing boards under Section 13 of the Agricultural Marketing Act, 1931, to the latest date, stating the amount advanced to each board separately?

As the reply contains a number of figures, I will, if I may, circulate it in the OFFICIAL REPORT.

The reply is so obvious. I have nothing to add to what I have already said, and my right hon. Friend said yesterday that he is unable to give any undertaking as to such legislation. Any reply to the facts given seems superfluous.

Will the hon. Gentleman draw the attention of the Secretary of State for Scotland to the fact that there is a growing demand in Scotland that the licensing law should be amended, in order to stop the graft that is going on?

Yes, Sir, certainly.

asked the Secretary of State-for Scotland if he is aware that the Govan Parish Council during 1930 paid an additional is. 6d. to the children of able-bodied persons drawing relief, making 3s. 6d. per week for each child; if he can state the cost of the same; and whether any surcharge was made upon the members of the local authority because of that decision?

I am aware that, at the end of March, 1930, Govan Parish Council resolved that the aliment paid to dependent children, under 16 years of age, of able-bodied unemployed persons in receipt of relief, be increased by la. 6d. per week. The additional allowance appears to have been paid for a period of four weeks until 15th May, 1930, when, in terms of the Local Government (Scotland) Act, 1929, the functions of the parish council were transferred to the Town Council of Glasgow and the payment of the additional allowance ceased. As regards the second part of the question, information as to the cost to the parish council of the additional allowance is not now available. As regards the last part, the expenditure not having been challenged by the auditor, the question of surcharge did not arise.

Seeing that there was no surcharge and that therefore we must take it that the decision was legal, can the hon. Gentleman state why the Scottish Office prohibited the Glasgow Corporation last December from paying Is. ed. extra to each child for the Christmas and New Year period?

That supplementary question raises a number of topics quite outside the original question, and will have to be put down separately.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the amount expended by the county of Dunbarton and the burghs of Dumbarton and Clydebank on able-bodied relief for the unemployed for the year ended May, 1933; and what will be the financial relief afforded to those areas by the Unemployment Bill now before Parliament?

The amounts expended during the year in question by the County Council of Dunbarton, and the Town Councils of Dumbarton and Clydebank on the relief of the able-bodied poor were £23,842, £13,297 and £38,241, respectively. I regret that it is not yet possible to estimate the financial relief which will be afforded to individual authorities.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) whether he is aware that the "Freya," one of the vessels under the superintendence of the Fishery Board of Scotland, has to sail from the Moray Firth to Leith every three weeks for coaling, and is absent from its cruising area during those periods from eight to ten days; whether any other vessel takes her place during those absences; and whether, with a view to greater efficiency and better supervision of the Moray Firth, he will take steps to ensure that the "Freya "coals at one of the harbours on the Moray Firth? and

(2) whether he is aware that the "Minna," one of the vessels under the superintendence of the Fishery Board of Scotland, which operates in the fishing waters round Lewis and Skye, has to go to Greenock for re-coaling; whether any other vessel of the Board performs her duties during the periods of absence for re-coaling; and whether he will arrange for the "Minna" to be refueled at a harbour nearer to her sphere of operation?

Leith and Greenock are the normal coaling ports of the cruisers "Freya" and "Minna" respectively, but, when necessary, the cruisers coal at local ports; when either cruiser is withdrawn from its station, arrangements are usually made for another cruiser to take its place. The cruisers are, of course, doing police work while on passage to and from the coaling ports. The coaling arrangements will be considered, in the general review of the policing arrangements which is in hand.

Is it not a fact that the statements in Question 46 would aply equally to the Navy if new vessels are not laid down?

I have not yet answered question 46.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether, seeing that the "Vigilant,"47 years old and with a speed of 11 knots, the "Brenda,"35 years old and with a speed' of 12 knots, and the "Minna," 33 years old and with a speed of 11 knots, three of the vessels under the superintendence of the Fishery Board of Scotland, are too old and too slow to give satisfactory service in protecting the fishing areas against illegal trawling, he will consider replacing them with more modern and speedier vessels?

These vessels are still rendering useful service. Their limitations are, however, realised and the question of replacement will be considered in the general review of the policing arrangements.

Is the hon. Gentleman aware of the criticisms that are being made by the fishermen themselves as to these vessels being unable to perform their duties, and is it not a fact that yesterday in this House criticisms were made of one of these vessels because of its inadequacy for policing purposes?

Will the hon. Gentleman consider in the near future adding to the number of vessels engaged on police patrol duties, in order that they may actually perform the services for which they are intended 9

The whole question of policing, and indeed the whole question of the suppressing of illegal trawling, is, as my hon. Friends know, under review. The first chapter will be a new Bill on the subject of the penalties. In connection with that, a careful review is going on as to the question of policing. May I say that the problem of policing is something like the problem of trying to catch 90 criminals with four policemen?

Does not that prove that the vessels mentioned in the question are inadequate to do the work?

I have stated in the original answer that the limitation of these vessels is realised and that we shall consider the question of their replacement. Before you decide what the replacement vessels must be and what their character, speed and so on must be, a general review of the policing requirements must be undertaken. That is being undertaken at the present time, and I could not, by way of question and answer, go into all the difficult points that are involved.

May I say, on behalf of the illegal trawlers, that the position is quite satisfactory?

We had a Debate upon this subject yesterday.

asked the Minister of Transport the present position with regard to the provision of water omnibuses on the Thames?

I understand that a scheme for the running of motor vessels on the Thames has been prepared by the Thames Water-bus Committee, and that the scheme has been submitted to the London and Home Counties Traffic Advisory Committee, by whom it will be considered at an early date.

Has this been submitted to the London Passenger Transport Board?

I understand that it was submitted to the London Passenger Transport Board, but they decided that they had other schemes which were more pressing.