asked the Minister of Transport whether his attention has been drawn to the traffic congestion which is caused by crawling taximeter-cabs looking for fares; and whether he will take steps to stop this practice?

Regulations are already in force prohibiting taxicabs from loitering in certain congested streets in the central area of London.

asked the Minister of Transport whether he is aware that there are no omnibus facilities to and from the villages of Scawton, Old Byland, Cold Kirby, Hambleton and Sutton; that these villages are far from any railway, and that many hundreds of persons are desirous of visiting these villages in order to watch the gliding from Sutton Bank; and whether he will urge the traffic commissioners for the area to expedite the hearing of all applications for road-service licences that propose to serve these villages?

I am informed by the traffic commissioners that there are local services to and from these villages and Thirsk on Mondays, which is market day, and Saturdays, and that there are at present no other applications before them for additional services to these places.

asked the Minister of Transport if and when a commencement will be made on the electrification of the railway to Portsmouth and to the intermediate towns on the South Coast?

The Southern Railway Company inform me that they have arrived at no decision with regard to the electrification of the railway to Portsmouth.

asked the Minister of Transport whether he will cause an analysis to be made of the £500 cost of a set of traffic signals in order to ascertain how much of the cost is in material, how much in labour, how much in profit, and how much in patent royalties to the patentee?

My Department is at present investigating the cost of these installations, but I would point out to my hon. Friend that about half the cost of a simple installation of vehicle-actuated signals is represented by road works and the expenses of erection, and only half by the apparatus itself.

asked the Minister of Transport whether he has in any case intervened to prevent any unnecessary erection of traffic signals; and whether he proposes to cause the removal of any signals where the delay caused is greater than any advantage gained?

The answer to the first part of the question is in the affirmative; with regard to the second part, I am prepared to consider any case that is brought before me on its merits.

asked the Minister of Transport whether he is aware that at the entrance to the Colnbrook by-pass from London there is an instruction to drivers to turn to the left around an artificial traffic island; that the turning is a short one at right angles to the main road; and whether he will investigate the suitability of this island and its prejudicial effect on good driving?

The roundabout working introduced in August last at the junction of the Colnbrook by-pass and the Bath Road has resulted in a substantial reduction in the number of accidents at a junction where accidents were previously frequent. The new layout will certainly be kept under observation with a view to determining whether any modification is desirable.

asked the Minister of Transport the approximate total mileage of roads in England and Wales, scheduled respectively as A roads and B roads, up to the latest convenient date?

On 1st April, 1934, the latest date for which complete figures are available, there were in England and Wales 20,214 miles of road in Class A and 12,854 in Class B.

asked the Secretary of State for Air what are the regulations affecting night-flying by aeroplanes over London?

There are no regulations dealing specifically with night-flying over London, but the general safety regulations in the Air Navigation Order apply, and these include a prohibition of flight over towns except at such an altitude that in the event of a breakdown a landing can be made outside the town.

asked the Secretary of State for Air whether he will reconsider his decision to close Marden aerodrome and keep it as an emergency landing ground for pilots flying on the Continental air route?

The Air Ministry tenancy of this landing ground has been terminated by notice given by the lessor. In point of fact, air traffic has of late tended not to follow the route over Marden, and provision of a new emergency landing ground in replacement is not considered necessary.

asked the Secretary of State for Air the respective amounts of income and expenditure and particulars thereof for the airport of Croydon for the year ending at the nearest convenient date; and the estimated expenditure for the current year, showing principal items?

My hon. and learned Friend will find an estimate of expenditure and receipts at Croydon at page 130 of the Air Estimates, 1935. It has not hitherto been the practice to publish an account of actual expenditure and receipts, but such an account would conform quite closely to the estimate.

asked the President of the Board of Education whether the wireless sets purchased for elementary and secondary schools in connection with school work are bought through local retailers or wholesale through the manufacturers thereof?

The Central Council for School Broadcasting publish a list of receiving apparatus suitable for use in schools and they advise schools when choosing apparatus from this list to consult the respective manufacturers, particularly in regard to the fulfilment of certain undertakings as to maintenance which the manufacturers have given. The usual practice is for the manufacturers to make arrangements for their local agents or dealers to instal the apparatus and to keep it in repair during the period of the guarantee. Special arrangements regarding the price of sets may be made in particular cases, but I have no information on the point.

asked the Secretary of State for Air the periods of service without home leave of the lower ranks in the Air Force at overseas stations in the Mediterranean; and whether leave to visit their homes can be given to these men every year?

The normal period of service of airmen in the Mediterranean command is five years,

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether, in order to calculate the total cost to the Exchequer of the beet-sugar subsidy, he will give separate figures for the amount represented by the preference in respect of Excise Duty and the amount of the direct contribution, respectively?

As stated in the Memorandum on the British Sugar (Subsidy) Financial Resolution (Command Paper 4922), the amount of subsidy payable under the Bill to be founded on the Resolution in respect of the 1935–36 campaign is estimated at about £2,750,000. The amount to be received by the industry in rebate of taxation for the same period, representing the difference between the amount of duty payable on sugar manufactured in this country from home-grown beet and the amount which would have been received had duty been charged on a similar quantity of British refined sugar of foreign origin, is estimated provisionally at £2,900,000.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty the number of capital ships under 20 years of age built, or building, by Britain, France, and Japan, respectively, giving the aggregate tonnage possessed by each country?

The figures are as follow:

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty the number of cruisers under 16 years of age built, or building, by Britain, France, and Japan, respectively, but not including the 32 contre-torpilleurs of the French navy, giving the

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty the number of flotilla-leaders and destroyers, including the French contre-torpilleurs, under 12 years of age built, or building, by Britain, France, and Japan, respectively, giving

The figures are as follow:the aggregate tonnage possessed by each country; and similar figures respecting submarines under 13 years of age possessed by the three countries?

The figures are as follow:

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty what is the amount of tonnage in naval construction represented by 35 per cent. of the British total in the following categories respectively, capital ships, cruisers, and destroyers; what is the amount represented by 45 per cent. of the British submarine tonnage; and what is the amount represented by 35 per cent. of the aggregate British tonnage?

On the tonnages allowed by the Washington Treaty as amended by the London Naval Treaty on 31st December, 1936, 35 per cent. of the British total of capital ship, cruiser and destroyer tonnages will be 166,163 tons, 118,650 tons and 52,500 tons respectively. On the same basis 45 per cent. of the British submarine tonnage is 23,715 tons. 35 per cent. of the aggregate British tonnage allowed by these treaties on 31st December, 1936, will be 403,008 tons. After 31st December, 1936, the tonnage allowed to Germany will be based on paragraph 2 (a) of the agreement of 18th June, 1935.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty, in connection with the Anglo-German Naval Agreement, whether the five German warships of the "Deutschland" type are to be reckoned in the battleship or the cruiser category?

Under the definitions contained in the Washington Treaty for the limitation of naval armaments, which are still in force, the "Deutschland" and her sister ships are in the capital ship category. Under the definitions proposed by His Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom for a future treaty, which are contained in Annex I to Chapter 2 of Part II, Section II of the British Draft Disarmament Convention (Command 4279), they will remain in that category.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty the periods of service without home leave of the lower ranks in the Royal Navy at overseas stations in the Mediterranean; and whether leave to visit their homes can be given to these men every year?

The normal period of service on the Mediterranean Station is two and a-half years. In exceptional cases this may be extended to three years, but it is more frequently reduced for Service reasons to less than two and a-half years. It would be impracticable to grant leave to the United Kingdom to these men every year, as it would immobilise the ships in which they were serving. They are, however, given 10 days drafting leave at home before proceeding on foreign service, and also special leave should their ships come home to refit or recommission.

asked the Minister of Agriculture the approximate proportions of first-grade beef and cow-beef, home-grown, that are sold on the British market?

I regret that this information is not available.