asked the Minister of Labour whether he will consider, in his negotiations for a shorter working week, approaching employers in the distributive trades with a view to a reduction of hours of labour in wholesale and retail shops?

:In the discussions regarding the possibility of absorbing more workpeople into employment, I shall certainly keep the distributive trades in mind.

:Will the right hon. Gentleman bear in mind that the distributive trades employ more than 2,000,000 people, and that the number of unemployed in these trades is heavier, I believe, than in any other, above all that the distributive trades are better able to make reductions in hours of labour than most industries?

:Yes, I will bear all that in mind.

:Were those interested in this side of the trade directly represented at the hours conference about a fortnight ago?

:That would depend upon the representatives from the trade who attended the conference.

asked the Minister of Labour when it is proposed to introduce legislation to bring agricultural workers within the scope of unemployment insurance?

:I have at present nothing to add to the answer which I gave the hon. Member on this subject on 28th January.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether his attention has been called to the sentences of imprisonment passed at Old Street Police Court on three insured persons, Mr. S. F. Cox, Mr. George Burgess, and Mr. George Knight, for drawing in error sums of less than 3s. some three months ago; and whether he will immediately have these cases investigated and see if it is possible to remit the sentences.

:These persons were convicted of knowingly making false representations for the purpose of obtaining unemployment benefit, and I find on inquiry that two of them have given notice of appeal against their sentences and have been released on bail. In the third case the time within which notice of appeal may be given has not yet expired. Accordingly it would not be proper for me to intervene.

asked the Minister of Labour whether, in view of the fact that the employés of the Unemployment Assistance Board are civil servants, any members of the staff and, if so, how many are now being worked at night, on Saturday afternoons and evenings, and throughout Sundays?

:In the four weeks ended 26th January, 1935, the latest date for which figures are immediately available, 2,718 members of the staff of the Unemployment Assistance Board worked hours in excess of the normal on one or more days during that period. It is not possible without further enquiry, which would involve disproportionate expenditure of time and labour, to state how many of these officers worked on Saturday afternoons, but the number is believed to be relatively small. During the same period 158 officers rendered some attendance on Sundays, but generally for a matter of a few hours only.

asked the Minister of Labour whether, in view of the fact that the employés of the Unemployment Assistance Board are civil servants, the rules of the civil service apply to all of them, especially in respect of working over time?

:Yes, Sir.

:Will the right hon. Gentleman look into the question of setting up Whitley Council machinery for the officers?

:That is a rather different question.

asked the Minister of Labour whether, before approving any new regulations submitted by the Unemployment Assistance Board, he will consult those chairmen of appeal tribunals who have already investigated cases referred to them, and who therefore have acquired knowledge of local conditions and of the various causes of hardship?

:When any new draft regulations are before me I propose to avail myself of this and all other sources of relevant information.

asked the Minister of Labour the difference in the aggregate amount paid in the county of Carmarthen to recipients of unemployment assistance in the first week of the operation of the now suspended regulations, and the amount disbursed to the same people in the preceding week?

:I have ventured to appeal to several hon. Members recently not to press for detailed information of this kind, at least for the present, owing to the great pressure on the staff. I hope therefore that I may have the hon. Member's concurrence in connection with this question.

asked the Minister of Labour the total number of unemployed on the registers of each of the Employment Exchanges in Carmarthenshire; and will he give in each case the number of former recipients of transitional payment who became subject to the operation of the unemployment assistance regulations?

:As the reply includes a table of figures, I will, if I may, circulate it in the OFFICIAL REPORT.

Following is the reply:

asked the Minister of Labour the number of persons who are in receipt of unemployment benefits and allowances under the new board, separately, at Bridgend, Aberkenfig, Maesteg, Ogmore Vale and Pontycymmer for the years 1930, 1931, 1932, 1933, 1934, to date?

asked the Minister of Health whether the postponement of the second appointed day will deprive the disabled ex-Service men who would have come under the Unemployment Assistance Board on the 1st March of the concession as to the disregarding or ignoring the first £1 of their disability pension?

:The date of the operation of this provision remains unaltered.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what provisions he purposes making to reimburse local authorities for payments of relief granted to persons who would have been transferred to the Unemployment Assistance Board on 1st March, but who are at present chargeable to public assistance committees?

:I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply given yesterday to questions by the hon. Members for Dumbarton Burghs (Mr. Kirk-wood) and Walsall (Mr. Leckie).

:As the reply includes a table of figures I will, if I may, circulate it in the OFFICIAL REPORT.

Following is the reply:

:In view of the fact that local authorities have made provision in their budgets for the second appointed day being the 1st March, and that the postponement will involve a considerable cost to the rates, does not my right hon. Friend think that the cost involved by this further postponement, which is in no way due to any fault of the local authorities, should be borne by the Exchequer?

:I have already stated that I am going to discuss with the local authorities the terms of compensation.

:When will the discussion start?

:Early next week.

asked the Minister of Labour the reason why unemployed females at Kimberley, Nottinghamshire, are compelled to walk or ride to Ilkeston, a distance of six miles altogether, costing 1s. 6d. a week if they ride, for the purpose of signing the register, seeing that there is an Exchange at Kimberley?

:There is no Exchange at Kimberley, and the temporary outhouse which has been opened for the unemployed miners cannot accommodate women claimants. The cost of a return ticket by rail to Ilkeston which is three miles away is 3d. and attendances are timed so as to fit in with the train service: the number of weekly attendances is either two or three, according to circumstances.

asked the Minister of Labour whether there are any unfilled vacancies for women workers, especially in the hotel and catering industry; and whether there is any shortage of domestic servants at the present time?

:There are a certain number of vacancies in some occupations in the hotel and catering industry, particularly for resident workers, for which the applicants immediately available on the register are not regarded by the employers as suitable, and which therefore may remain unfilled for a period. There is also difficulty in filling vacancies for some classes of resident domestic servants. Special attention is being paid to both these classes of occupation with a view to meeting the shortages both by training and by transfer.

:Does the right hon. Gentleman not think that they would get more people into the hotels and restaurants if they controlled the hours of working?

asked the Minister of Labour who represented His Majesty's Government at the recent sessions of the governing body of the International Labour Office; what decisions were taken; and what was the position of His Majesty's Government as regards these decisions?

:As the reply to the hon. Member is necessarily long, I propose, if I may, to circulate it in the OFFICIAL REPORT.

Following is the reply:

asked the Home Secretary what progress has been made in connection with the provision of remand homes under the Children Act, 1933; and how many areas remain at the present time without adequate provision?

:Many local authorities have had this question under consideration and several schemes for the co-operation of adjoining authorities have been completed or are in course of preparation. The problem is not easy of solution in areas where there is only a small number of persons for whom accommodation is likely to be required, but on the whole satisfactory progress appears to have been made. I am unable to answer the latter part of the question in detail, but the question of collecting further information will be considered at a later date.

asked the Home Secretary whether his attention has been drawn to the serious statement of the Chief Constable for Cardiff that the Ninian Park association football ground, Cardiff, is not safe to accommodate more than 25,000 persons; and, in that 40,000 persons and more visit the ground on occasions, he will institute an inquiry in the interest of public safety?

:Yes, Sir; I have seen the report made by the Chief Constable to his Watch Committee, and I have already communicated with the Welsh Football Association in the matter, and asked for an assurance that the association will take any steps in their power to ensure that suggestions made by the Chief Constable will receive full consideration by the ground authority.

:Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that the directors are prepared to do all they possibly can in this matter, but feel very unhappy that the Chief Constable should have made this statement without first passing on the observation to them?

asked the Home Secretary whether he has received a report from his factory inspector in connection with the death of a man and serious injuries to other workmen when a fire broke out at Ford's works, Dagenham, Essex; whether the comments made by the jury at the inquest have been brought to his notice; and what action he proposes to take in the matter?

:Yes, Sir. The accident appears to have been due to an escape of gas in connection with some repairs, the gas being blown by a strong wind through the door of the boiler house, and the jury suggested that greater precautions should be taken in future when carrying out such operations as were undertaken on the occasion in question. What exactly would be the best preventive measures is now being explored by the firm's expert advisers in consultation with the Factory Department.

asked the Home Secretary whether he is aware that chief constables are enforcing the law with regard to small lotteries in a more stringent manner than was the custom before the passing of the Betting and Lotteries Act; and whether this is due to action taken by his Department?

:Parliament has recently revised the law relating to lotteries and it is the duty of chief officers of Police to enforce the law when contraventions of it come to their notice. In reply to the second part of the question, I have no power to give directions to the police as to the manner in which they should enforce the law, but I have caused their attention to be drawn to the provisions of the new Act.

:Is it not utterly absurd that people should be stopped from going in for small lotteries of 6d. or 1s.?

:When is the right hon. Gentleman going to codify the betting law, so that it will be comprehensive and apply equally to all sections of the community?

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Education whether his attention has been drawn to the conduct of the chairman of a meeting of school managers in Flintshire, who questioned candidates for a vacancy as to their politics and family circumstances, and publicly stated that he would have no Socialists in the school and that all members of the staff must be Conservative, and Churchpeople; and what action he proposes to take in the matter?

:I understand that a letter has been sent by the local education authority concerned to the chairman of the managers of a public elementary school in the county raising objection to certain questions which it was alleged had been addressed by him to candidates at a meeting of the managers which was called to fill a Vacancy in the staff of the school. In so far as inquiries addressed to candidates on such occasions have any reference to their political views, or are otherwise irrelevant, they are, I need hardly say, highly improper. In view of the action that has been taken by the authority concerned, and as I understand that the authority has since consented to the appointment of the selected candidate, who possessed the necessary educational qualifications, I do not consider that any useful purpose would be served by any further action in the matter.

:Am I to understand that no word of censure is to be addressed to this chairman, Lord Mostyn; and, further, cannot the hon. Gentleman take some steps to ensure that in all these cases character and qualifications shall be the main test in a man's appointment, and that a teacher's politics, whether Conservative or Socialist, shall not be allowed to influence his appointment to a situation?

:That is perfectly well known. I have already expressed the opinion that this action was highly improper.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Education how many children under five years of age are in infant classes of elementary schools?

:On the 31st March, 1934, the number of children under five years of age in public elementary schools maintained by local education authorities was 155,175.

:Will the right hon. Gentleman bear in mind that there are 1,750,000 children between two and five years of age, and will he press on the Government the necessity of having a five-year plan for children and getting as many as possible into open-air nursery schools, thereby saving thousands of pounds to the country in medical inspection when it is too late to have them inspected?

:Can the hon. Gentleman give us any reason why these nursery schools are not more keenly supported by the Government?

:They are being supported by the Government.

:And just as keenly as by the late Government.

:Will the hon. Gentleman explain why the building programme of nursery schools in Glamorganshire is being held up?

:Will the Minister also say that there has been a good deal of trouble in getting local authorities to co-operate? They wanted to open a nursery school in South Wales, but could not on account of the Communists there.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Education whether, in view of the strong recommendation in favour of nursery schools made by Sir George Newman in his report on the health of the school child, he will endeavour to provide nursery schools in connection with all schemes for the clearance of slum areas?

:As indicated on page 64 of Sir George Newman's report for 1933, the provision of nursery schools on new housing estates, where the housing conditions are presumably satisfactory, is a less urgent matter than their provision in areas where the housing conditions are seriously defective. My Noble Friend is, however, prepared to consider on their merits proposals for the provision of nursery schools on new housing estates where the inhabitants have previously been living under specially bad conditions, and where consequently the social conditions may be particularly unfavourable.

:Will the hon. Gentleman bear in mind that the majority of children now living on the new housing estates have had nursery schools available to them in their old slums, and that in the vast majority of cases those children, who have been trained in the nursery schools, are now losing what was a very valuable acquisition in their young lives?

:Will the hon. Gentleman tell the House how very few nursery schools there are in the country?

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Education whether he has any information he can give as to the number of unemployed teachers in Great Britain?

:The Board of Education receive information from the Training College authorities regarding the employment of certificated teachers who leave the colleges each year, but there is no information available regarding the total number of teachers in England and Wales who may be seeking employment at any given moment.

:In view of the fact that there are large numbers of teachers unemployed, is it not possible for the Board of Education to ascertain the numbers who are available for employment and cannot get it?

:It is extremely difficult to ascertain that, because so many teachers may be teaching in non-State-aided schools and others may not be seeking employment in the teaching profession. So far as my information goes, there is less unemployment in the teaching profession than in most other professions.

:How does the number of unemployed teachers in this country this year compare with the number, say, in 1931? Is it more or less?

:I must have notice of that question.

asked the Minister of Health whether he is aware that public utility companies are not allowed to formulate a staff pension scheme unless powers for this purpose are obtained by Act of Parliament; and whether he will consider, with a view to encouraging the creation of pension funds, introducing legislation to give general powers for this purpose to public utility companies?

:As regards the first part of the question, public utility companies set up under the Companies Acts can take powers to formulate pension schemes by means of their Memorandum and Articles of Association. Companies incorporated by private Acts generally obtain such powers from Parliament. Companies for the supply of gas can also obtain the powers by Special Order of the Board of Trade. Any local authority to whom the Local Government and Other Officers Superannuation Act, 1922, applies may, with my approval, admit to their scheme officers or servants of any undertakers exercising statutory powers within the area of the local authority. As regards the second part of the question, my hon. Friend will see that the position is already largely covered, and I cannot promise general legislation on the subject.

:Is the Minister aware that the cost of obtaining a Private Bill in this matter is in the neighbourhood of £200, which is quite a lot of money for a small company; and does he not think that in order to assist these small companies the Government might introduce legislation?

:No, Sir. My hon. Friend will see from the terms of my reply that a very large part of the area is covered without the necessity of promoting a Private Bill.

:Do limited liability companies possess this power, and, if so, why should there be a differentiation between the two?

:My hon. Friend will see—

:Mr. Chorlton.

asked the Minister of Health what steps are being taken to ensure that the town planning of the area within a 10-mile radius of Manchester takes proper account of the possible future co-ordination of all the public services within that area?

:One of the functions of the Manchester and District Joint Town Planning Advisory Committee is expressed as being "to secure the co-ordination of any area schemes dealing with public utility services," and a subcommittee of that committee has been appointed to consider the general question of sewerage, drainage and sewage disposal for the area of the Advisory Committee on a regional basis.

asked the Minister of Health the wording of the instruction to public vaccinators under contract which either directs or permits a public vaccinator to call on a parent who has been convicted and fined under the Vaccination Act and offer to vaccinate the child in question; whether, if public vaccinators are instructed or permitted to make such visits, they have to give 24 hours' notice; where, in the instructions to public vaccinators under contract, can this requirement be found; and, if they can visit in such cases without giving 24 hours' notice, why must they give this notice on their first visit?

:There is no such instruction as is mentioned in the first part of the question, but, as I informed the hon. Member in reply to his question of the 29th. January, I am advised that visits such as he refers to do not contravene the vaccination law. As regards the latter parts of the question, 24 hours' notice is required only in connection with the visit which the public vaccinator is directed to pay under Section 1 (3) of the Vaccination Act, 1898. Visits which are made voluntarily are subject to no rules.

asked the Minister of Health how many cases of maternal mortality, in the period covered by the latest available official figures, are known to have a previous history of abortion or attempted abortion?

:If my Noble Friend is referring to cases in which abortion had taken place, or had been attempted, in connection with pregnancies preceding the fatal pregnancy, I am afraid there are no figures available. But if the reference is to cases of abortion, or attempted abortion, in connection with fatal pregnancy, I may say that the total of 2,618 cases of maternal mortality in England and Wales in 1933 (deaths classified to pregnancy and child-bearing) comprises 378 deaths attributable to abortion (including miscarriage), namely, 257 classified to post-abortive sepsis, and 121 classified to abortion not returned as septic. There were, in addition, 97 deaths not classified to puerperal causes but returned as associated with abortion or miscarriage; and 85 deaths classified to criminal abortion on a coroner's certificate.

:When questions are put on the subject of maternal mortality will my right hon. Friend remind hon. Members who put them that it is not only a question of lack of nutrition but that there are many other things connected with the subject that up to this time have not received sufficient attention?

:Cannot the right hon. Gentleman do something through his Department to spread a knowledge of scientific birth control?

(1) asked the Minister of Health whether his Department was consulted by the Metropolitan Water Board before selecting the Holly Lodge site for the purposes of water storage to the exclusion of alternative possibilities higher up the Thames Valley or elsewhere;

(2)the Lord President of the Council whether the Geological Survey of Great Britain was consulted by the Metropolitan Water Board before deciding upon the Holly Lodge site for the purposes of water storage to the exclusion of alternative possibilities higher up the Thames Valley or elsewhere?

:My Ministry and the Geological Survey were not consulted before this site was selected, but the board had at their disposal the memoirs and maps dealing with the Thames Valley published by the Geological Survey.

asked the Minister of Health whether he is prepared to set up a committee to investigate and report upon any measures likely to be used to abate nuisances which may arise from the use of pulverised fuel; and whether, if that committee is set up, special consideration will be given to the abatement of nuisances arising in connection with generating stations and other statutory undertakings?

:I would refer my hon. and gallant Friend to the reply given to the question of the hon. Member for West Houghton (Mr. Rhys Davies) on 31st January.

asked the Prime Minister whether it is proposed to publish the report of the president of the Royal Society and other scientists that was made to the Government last year on the nutrition of children and kindred subjects?

:I assume that the right hon. Gentleman is referring to a memorandum submitted last year by the Economic Advisory Council. This document was intended to be confidential and will not be published. Substantial effect is being given to the committee's recommendations by the appointment, jointly by my right hon. Friend the Minister of Health and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland, of a committee to advise on certain aspects of this question.

:Is it not a fact that this inquiry was into the nutrition of certain sections of the population, and is there any reason why it should be secret?

:It is one of the inquiries that I ask for from time to time to be undertaken by the Economic Advisory Council, which the right hon. Gentleman knows perfectly well from his own experience makes reports on condition that they will not be published unless with its further consent. The report that was given was a very important one, a very interesting one at any rate, and it has been referred for further inquiry in certain of its more important points.

:It was perfectly possible to eliminate any matters that were confidential. Is it not of great importance that the findings of these scientists on the matter should be made public?

:The right hon. Gentleman knows perfectly well the conditions under which the inquiries are made. If it were subjected to eliminating and pruning, the report that we published would not be the report originally given. The matter is under consideration.

asked the Minister of Health what protection is afforded by his Department to a tenant of a house which is actually controlled but against which a certificate of decontrol is issued by a local authority upon instructions of the county court?

:The certificate to which the hon. Member refers is merely a certificate of registration of a claim that a house is decontrolled. It is specifically provided that such a certificate shall not be received as evidence on the issue whether or not the house is in fact decontrolled. That issue is a legal one to be determined by the court.

asked the Minister of Health whether his attention has been drawn to the situation with regard to the slum-clearance programme in Silvertown, West Ham; whether his Department will undertake a separate investigation in county boroughs where conditions are bad; whether he will use his powers to see that borough councils undertake adequate slum-clearance programmes, so that the worst slums are cleared and not left standing after the programmes have been completed; and will he use his powers in the same way with regard to overcrowding?

:My attention has been drawn to this matter. The programme of slum-clearance submitted by this council is making satisfactory progress. The question whether an increase of the programme in this or other county boroughs is necessary is undoubtedly a matter for the most careful consideration. The administration of the Bill now before Parliament, if it should become law, will be on the same lines as the administration of the Act of 1930.

:Will the right hon. Gentleman ask some of the slum property owners to co-operate with the council and not to put obstacles in the way.

asked the Minister of Health whether his attention has been drawn to the recent proposal of the Saddleworth Urban District Council to withhold payment of a precept to the West Riding County Council as a protest against the unfair operation upon itself and certain other district authorities in the West Riding of Section 9 (2, c ) of the Rating and Valuation Act, 1925; and whether he is prepared to relieve urban district authorities, having within their areas reservoirs belonging to outside authorities, of the obligation to pay to the county authorities more in respect of the reservoirs than they receive in rates from the owning outside authorities?

:I am acquainted with the position in this urban district but was not aware that the council were proposing to withhold payment of a precept. I have no power to authorise a departure from the law. Legislation would be required and I can make no promise at the present time on this matter.

:Is it not a fact that Section 9 (2, c ) of the Rating and Valuation Act, 1925, is intended to establish a balance of burden between the rural and urban districts and that that balance has since been destroyed by the Local Government Act, 1929; and is it not therefore extremely desirable that the Minister should introduce legislation as soon as may be in order to remove this injustice to urban districts?

:I should hesitate to accept the deductions which the hon. Gentleman has drawn as I think they are rather matters of argument.

asked the Minister of Health the amount of money held in reserve by the Lancashire County Council?

:According to a return furnished to my Department by the county council of Lancaster the balances in hand at the 31st March, 1934, in the rate fund account of the council, amounted to £1,515,785.

:Will the right hon. Gentleman suggest to the county council that a very good way to expend a little of that money would be to lighten the burden at present pressing upon the ratepayers?

:My hon. and gallant Friend will no doubt be aware that there are many purposes for which such a reserve fund is required.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether, in view of the fact that there was an increase of £2,100,000 in the imports of motor-cars from the United States into this country in the past year, largely due to the reduction of the horsepower tax on motorcars, he will consider the limitation of this concession to British cars only?

:I cannot identify my hon. Friend's figure, unless he is referring to the total exports of vehicles of British manufacture, which have, in the past year, increased by the amount he quotes. The right figure for his purpose is roughly £700,000, and I would refer my hon. Friend to a reply given on 6th November last by the Financial Secretary to questions by the hon. Members for Bradford East (Mr. Hepworth) and Hanley (Mr. Hales).

:Is it not a fact that there is an enormous increase in the importation of foreign motor-cars into this country, and will His Majesty's Government take some steps to safeguard the industry here?

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury what sums are outstanding in regard to Income Tax and Super-Tax due to the Exchequer from Messrs. Strauss and Company, Limited?

:No, Sir. I am unable to disclose information regarding the liability to taxation of a particular taxpayer.

:May I ask the Financial Secretary whether there is not, apparently, some discrepancy between the amount of money that is owing by very rich firms and the pressure which is brought to bear upon, poor people; and whether some action ought not to be taken by the Treasury?

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will indicate what expenditure has been incurred by the Government during the present financial year for which provision was not sufficiently made in the Budget; and whether he will give details of the items, including commitments for future expenditure, to which the Government may become liable in the next financial year?

:As regards the first part of the question, I must ask the hon. Member to wait until next week, when I hope the last of the Supplementary Estimates will be available. As regards the second part of the question, if the hon. Member will put down a further question in due course, related to the published Estimates, I will endeavour to answer it so far as it may be possible to do so without anticipating my Budget statement.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with regard to the series of resolutions he has received, adopted by the Birmingham Jewellers' Association at its meeting on the 11th instant, which embodied protests against the action of the Royal Mint in manufacturing Silver Jubilee medals for sale to the public through ordinary trade channels, whether it is the policy of His Majesty's Government to encourage competition by a Department of the State against private enterprise in this branch of productive industry?

:The answer is in the negative. The medals to which my hon. Friend refers are the official commemorative medals which have invariably been struck at the Royal Mint on similar occasions in the past, such as the 1887 and 1897 Jubilees. Moreover, on the present occasion the operations of the Mint have been deliberately confined to the production of medals in gold and silver, leaving the production of medals in bronze, etc., which on former occasions had been undertaken by the Mint itself, to private enterprise.

:Does that mean that no consideration at all can be given to the representations made by the Birmingham Jewellers' Association on this matter, which involves the possibility of giving employment to so many people?

:Can the right hon. Gentleman say why the Royal Mint is circumscribed on this occasion, and why he is not following the precedent of previous occasions?

:My answer was to the effect that precedent is being followed.

:Has not the right hon. Gentleman stated, in answer to this question, that the Royal Mint does not intend on this occasion to issue certain medals which were issued on previous occasions?

:I made a distinction between medals in gold and silver and medals of other nature. The former, which have always been made by the Mint, will also be made by the Mint on this occasion, but the others, on this occasion, are being left to private enterprise.

:Will my right hon. Friend do what he can to limit the number of medals placed on the market?

:No, Sir; it is His Majesty's wish that as many of his subjects as possible shall have the opportunity of buying them.

:Is it the intention to issue the various currencies and medals in boxes, for the convenience of collectors?

:Perhaps the hon. Gentleman will put down a question on that point.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer the amount of the subsidy provided by the Treasury for the operation of the Royal Mint in the last financial year, and the loss which has been sustained by that Department during the financial years 1932–33 and 1933–34?

:My hon. Friend appears to be under some misapprehension. The Royal Mint, like any other Department of State, is in receipt of a Parliamentary grant, which amounted in the financial year 1932 to £150,000, of which, however, no part was drawn; and in the financial year 1933 to £150,000 again, of which £74,021 was drawn. The purpose of these grants, as my hon. Friend will see by studying the details of the Estimate, was to finance the redemption at face value of surplus silver coins from various parts of the Empire. So far from making a loss on its operations, the Mint usually makes a considerable profit, which reduces the sum which Parliament would otherwise have to provide for keeping our currency in good order.

:Will the Chancellor of the Exchequer assure the House that no part of the Parliamentary grant will be employed in strengthening the competitive power of the Mint as against private enterprise?

:Might not this medal business be handed over to the City, so that they could have a little gamble on it, as they do with pepper and other things?

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will cause to be made an inquiry with the object of establishing the possibility, or otherwise, of the payment of pensions of £1 a week at the age of 60, on a contributory basis, to those workers who are qualified under existing law to receive old age pensions, and the cost to the State of one-third of the total cost thereof?

:If the age at which contributory pensions are paid were reduced from 65 to 60, and their amount were increased to £1 a week, the additional cost involved (including non-contributory pensions to persons over 70 which cannot be separated from contributory), would be about £120,000,000 a year. There would be a further increase of cost of over £9,000,000 a year if it were necessary to increase the pensions of widows over 60. As regards the effect and possibilities of securing further contributions towards such a scheme, I would refer the hon. Member to a reply given on the 16th November, 1932 (of which I am sending him a copy), by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister to a question by the hon. Member for Deritend (Mr. Smedley Crooke).

:Does that calculation take into account the amount of money that would be saved by way of unemployment benefit?

:In view of the large number of questions on this subject, the difficulty of getting accurate information, and the importance of the subject owing to the increasing age of the population, would the right hon. Gentleman consider instituting an inquiry into the possibility of producing a workable scheme of retiring pensions?

:I think the figures I have quoted indicate that an inquiry would show that it was not possible.

:Does not the right hon. Gentleman think it would be a jolly good way of getting a better distribution of wealth?

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury whether in view of the statement of the Premier of Ontario that the proposed defaults by Canadian municipalities have been caused by their having had to accept loans from lenders, he will, in order to prevent a repetition of the proposed defaults owing to loans being forced upon Canadian municipalities, confer with the London Stock Exchange with a view to withholding quotations from future Canadian municipal loans unless accepted by the borrowers with the consent of the Canadian Dominion authorities?

:According to the information in my possession, no statement such as that mentioned in the question was made by the Premier of Ontario, and none of the Ontario Municipal Loans issued or quoted in London are in default. I think my hon. and gallant Friend may rest assured that the situation will be watched as may be necessary by the market without assistance from the Treasury.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury the amount of sumach which was imported into this country during the last six months of 1934; how much thereof was charged duty; how much thereof was imported free of duty; and how much thereof came from Empire sources?

:The quantity of sumach imported into this country in the last six months of 1934 was approximately 24,930 cwts., of which about 1,850 cwts. were admitted duty free under the exemption in favour of unground sumach leaves and about 4,210 cwts. as the produce of Empire sources. The balance would be chargeable with duty.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether it is proposed to call an international conference on shipping subsidies on the initiative of the British Government or otherwise; and whether this question was considered at the recent international conference of shipping companies on the subject of rationalisation?

:The answer to both parts of the question is in the negative.

asked the President of the Board of Trade under what trade agreement we are debarred from imposing a duty on dried and condensed milk?

:The imposition of duties on imports of dried and condensed milk from foreign countries is not precluded by any trade agreement, and such imports are in fact already subject to duty. Under the agreements concluded at Ottawa in 1932, the Dominions concerned enjoy the right of free entry for their milk products for a period of three years.

:Is the right hon. Gentle man aware that in answer to me the other day the Minister of Agriculture said that there was definitely an agreement whereby tariffs were precluded from being put into the reference to the commission to inquire into milk?

:Information relating to an answer given by my right hon. Friend should be asked for from him.

:Will the right hon. Gentleman convey this information to the Minister of Agriculture so that the terms of reference to the Milk Commission can be widened accordingly?

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer the amount of the benefit received by each separate industry as a result of direct and indirect grants from the Exchequer, relief from taxation or in any other way, due to Government action, during the year 1934 or during 12 months from the most recent convenient date?

:I fear that it would be an impossible task to allocate as between particular industries the benefit derived from general relief of taxation and the many modifications, both upwards and downwards, in Customs duties and drawbacks. I will, however, have prepared, and will circulate in the OFFICIAL REPORT as soon as possible, a statement in respect of the current year, similar to that given in reply to a question by the hon. Member for East Rhondda (Mr. Mainwaring) on the 6th March last.

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether he is aware that the best steers and maiden heifers were sold last week at prices ranging between 31s. and 36s. per cwt.; and whether, pending the introduction of the Government's long-range policy, he can arrange that the temporary subsidy shall bring a return of not less than 45s. per cwt. to the producer?

:I have been asked to reply. With regard to the first part of the question, my right hon. Friend's information is that the average price of cattle of the quality referred to by my hon. Friend in respect of the week ending 6th February was 35s. 11d. per live cwt. My right hon. Friend regrets that it is not possible for him to make any such arrangement as that suggested in the last part of the question.

:If the 5s. subsidy does not result in a higher price, surely a larger subsidy is necessary?

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether he is aware that many sound concerns, anxious to start bacon-curing factories, will not risk doing so until they have obtained a licence from the Pig Industry Development Board, which is not yet in existence; and if he will, therefore, set up the board at the earliest possible moment?

:The draft Bacon Development Scheme, which was submitted to my right hon. Friends the Secretary of State for Scotland and the Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, is still under consideration. My right hon. Friends appreciate the position in which firms, who contemplate establishing or extending bacon factories, are placed, but they regret that they are not at present in a position to make any announcement with regard to the draft scheme.

:Will my hon. and gallant Friend urge upon the Minister that this decision should be made as soon as possible, and the board set up at the earliest possible moment?

:Yes, Sir.

asked the Prime Minister whether he can now state when the legislation to combat ribbon-building will be introduced?

:I am not in a position to add to what I have already said in reply to questions on this subject.

:Is my right hon. Friend not aware that virtually the same answer has been given three times, to various hon. Members, and cannot he minimise delay, as harm may be done which may not be redressed for half a century?

:Will the right hon. Gentleman go down the Great West Road, where he will realise that, if he does not hurry, it will be of no use?

:I am doing what I can.

:Can the Prime Minister give us any indication as to when he will be able to give us some kind of answer to this question, which has been put down very often already? The subject is a very important one.

:I quite agree, and, as I say, I am hurrying it up as quickly as I possibly can.

asked the Prime Minister whether, in view of the extensive preparations being made in France, Italy, Germany, Russia, Poland, and all other European countries for the protection of the civil population against aerial attacks by means of provision of gas masks and bomb-proof shelters, he will state when it is proposed to give similar protection and instruction to the people of this country as to the action to be taken in the event of attack?

:I would refer the hon. Member to the answer which I gave to him on the 1st November last.

:Was not information on this subject promised last summer? Is it not right that the people of this country should be in the same position as people on the Continent?

:The answer that I have given covers that point.

:The information was promised last July; has nothing been done about it?

:Can we be given any idea which nation is going to drop the bomb that will make this necessary?

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether he can state the nature of the reply sent to the Bentley-with-Arksey urban district council with regard to the dispute existing between the Ouse Catchment Board and the Minister of Agriculture as to the apportionment of the cost of the scheme for draining the River Don?

:It is understood that the question of the acceptance of the grant offered by the Government is being given further consideration by the Yorkshire Ouse Catchment Board at their meeting on 27th February, and in these circumstances no answer beyond an acknowledgment has been sent to the letter to which the hon. Member refers.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he will give the figures relating to the losses sustained by shareholders and creditors arising out of the compulsory winding-up of companies, both private and public, for the three past years ended 31st December, 1934, or the nearest convenient date?

:I regret that the information asked for by my hon. Friend is not available.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether, having regard to the recent failure of the Anglian Insurance Company and to the losses of the policy holders therein, he will introduce legislation making it compulsory for this class of insurance company to deposit with the Board of Trade a substantial cash security, with a view to protecting the interests of the various parties concerned?

:Companies transacting motor insurance business are required by the Road Traffic Act, 1930, to make a deposit of £15,000. The main purpose of this deposit is to provide a measure of check on companies entering this class of business without resources, and its adequacy, from this point of view, will be considered when amending legislation is under consideration.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he has considered the resolution adopted by the Dumbarton County Council requesting the education committee of the council to ask the Secretary of State for Scotland to set up an inquiry into the recent transfer and reduction of the rector of Lenzie Academy; and whether he can now take steps to expedite such an inquiry?

:I am aware of the terms of the resolution referred to. But as no communication from the education committee of Dumbarton County Council has yet been received by the Department, it is not open to my right hon. Friend to take any steps in the matter at the moment.

:In the event of no communication being sent from the education committee with the request of the county council, will the hon. Gentleman take some action in the matter so as to dispose of the agitation in the district, and especially the concern of the parents?

:I think in the absence of any communication from the relevant local authority no action can be taken.

:Is the hon. Gentleman aware that secondary education under the public authority in this area has practically come to a standstill and that his Department is responsible for paying grants in that area on the basis of efficient education being carried on; and, in view of all those facts, does he tell us that he has no right to intervene in a matter which is a public scandal?

:These supplementary questions do not arise out of the question on the Paper. The question on the Paper deals entirely with observations made by the county council. The hon. Member is entering a much larger field. Before I enter into it by way of answer, the question must be put on the Paper.

:My question arose out of the reply of the Under-Secretary, which presumably related to the original question. Is he aware that he replied that he had no locus for intervening in the matter unless he was approached by the local authority? I am asking him; is it a fact that he is due to pay grants to this area and that education has come to a standstill. Does his Department propose to continue paying grants for no education?

:I can only repeat that before that question is answered it must be put down on the Paper and not be asked as a supplementary to a question which deals with a supposed request to set up an inquiry which has not yet reached us?

:Is it the case that the education committee of this council is capable of overturning the desires of the elected representatives of the county council itself?

:On that point the education committee is constituted in accordance with the administrative scheme of the country.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he is aware that the smallholders at Gagie, in Angus, and also some of the holders at Lintrose, Angus, have suffered considerable loss owing to the working of the Scottish Milk Marketing Scheme; and whether, seeing that these dairy holdings have been rented more highly than the other holdings, he will consider calling a special session of the Land Court to consider the necessity of making an immediate reduction of rent in these particular cases?

:With regard to the first part of the question, no information has been received by my right hon. Friend as to the effect of the Scottish Milk Marketing Scheme upon the returns of the holders referred to: with regard to the second part, it has been open to any of the smallholders at Gagie since the year 1928, and it is now open to them to make application to the Land Court for a revision of their rent. The settlement at Lintrose has not yet been in existence for seven years. My right hon. Friend has no information before him which would make it seem necessary for him to consider the question of altering the ordinary procedure.

:If information is submitted to show the hardship that is being inflicted on these people, will the hon. Gentleman consider it?

:Any information dealing with land settlement will, of course, be most carefully considered by the Department and by my right hon. Friend.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he will invite the Milk Reorganisation Commission to give its first attention to the exceptional difficulties that have arisen in the East of Scotland in the working of the Scottish Milk Marketing Scheme; and whether he will invite the Commission to consider the advisability of issuing an interim report dealing with the position of level producers and producer retailers in the East of Scotland?

:As stated in the reply which I gave to the hon. Member on 18th December, of which I am sending him a copy, he can rest assured that the Commission will give due attention to the situation in the East of Scotland. It will be open to the Commission to submit an interim report if, on consideration of the evidence, such action is deemed advisable.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he has had any report from the commissioner for the special areas in Scotland with reference to any schemes recommended by him?

:The commissioner has been in active communication with Government Departments and local authorities in regard to a number of schemes for the economic development and social improvement of the special areas in Scotland, and preliminary reports regarding his plans have been received. The commissioner hopes to issue a statement on the subject in the near future.