Written Answers
Refugees
asked the Home Secretary whether His Majesty's Government have considered a communication sent by the League of Nations' Council asking for information as to the principles at present applied in regard to the refusal of entry and expulsion in the case of refugees who are not in possession of the necessary visas and therefore are not allowed to reside in any other country; and whether His Majesty's Government are prepared to take any action on the recommendations, on this subject, of the League of Nations Assembly and the Inter-Governmental Advisory Commission on Refugees?
I presume that the hon. Member is referring to the recommendations relating to expulsion contained in the report of the Inter-Governmental Advisory Commission for Refugees which was set up to deal with refugees from the former Russian and Turkish Empires. The Commission and the League have been informed on several Occasions of the principles adopted by His Majesty's Government in this matter, which, so far as expulsion is concerned, are virtually in agreement with these recommendations. As regards refusal of entry, His Majesty's Government must reserve the right to refuse admission to the United Kingdom to any alien, whether or not he is a refugee.
Royal Navy (Oil Separators)
asked the First Lord of the Admiralty in how many of His Majesty's ships oil separators have been fitted; and whether it is the intention of the Admiralty to fit oil separators in all new construction of oil-fired ships?
None of His Majesty's Ships is fitted with oil separators, nor is it the intention of the Admiralty to fit them in new ships. Experience has shown that there is no necessity to discharge appreciable amounts of oily refuse from His Majesty's Ships into the sea, since oil separating barges are available at the principal naval bases. Strict regulations forbid the discharge of any oily refuse overboard within 50 miles of any coast.
asked the First Lord of the Admiralty how much oil has been recovered from His Majesty's ships through oil separators in barges at Home ports during the past 12 months or some other convenient period?
During the 12 months ending 30th June, 1935, approximately 36,000 tons of oily water were passed through oil separator barges at home ports and 750 tons of oil were recovered. The bulk of this oily water came from tankers, and not from warships.
Prison Service (Scotland)
asked the Secretary of State for Scotland the number of male and female officers in the Scottish prison service who have expressed themselves as being satisfied with the annual payment of 6s. as a repair allowance for boots?
It is not the practice to call for expressions of opinion by officers in matters of this kind, and the information requested is not available. As explained in answers to questions by the hon. Member on 14th March and 9th May, 1934, the amount of the boot repair allowance was fixed after careful investigation and in consultation with prison governors. It has been the subject of discussion with the Prison Officers' Representative Board on several occasions, and there is no reason to believe that it is inadequate.
Captain Kane's Imprisonment, Palma
asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he can make any statement on the results of the consular investigation into the imprisonment of Captain A. W. Kane, at Palma, Majorca; and whether he proposes to call the attention of travel agencies to the risks run by British visitors to the Balearic Islands?
As regards the first part of the question, I would refer my hon. Friend to the replies which my right hon. Friend gave on 4th July to my hon. and gallant Friend the Member for Burnley (Vice-Admiral Campbell) and my right hon. Friend the Member for Epping (Mr. Churchill). Captain Kane's appeal will be heard at Madrid at some date before 21st July. Attempts made by the British Vice-Consul at Palma to obtain his release on bail or his detention in hospital have so far been unsuccessful. I have, however, requested His Majesty's Ambassador in Madrid to take such steps as he properly can, in case action by him in this respect is feasible. As regards the second part of the question, I do not propose to take any action.
Unemployment
Chatham And Gravesend
asked the Minister of Labour the number of persons on the register of the Rochester and Gravesend employment exchanges at the latest convenient date?
At 24th June, 1935, there were 3,687 unemployed persons registered at the Chatham Employment Exchange, and 1,766 at the Gravesend Employment Exchange. These figures include persons registered at the local juvenile employment bureaux.
Leicester
asked the Minister of Labour whether he will indicate the course of employment in the city of
| Numbers and percentages of insured persons, aged 16 to 64, recorded as unemployed in May and June, 1935, in the principal industries at Leicester. | |||||
| Industry. | Number of insured persons, aged 16·64, recorded as unemployed, and percentage of estimated number insured at July, 1934. | ||||
| 20th May, 1935. | 24th June, 1935. | ||||
| Number. | Per cent. | Number. | Per cent. | ||
| Building | … | 443 | 6·4 | 446 | 6·5 |
| General Engineering, etc. | … | 341 | 3·8 | 308 | 3·4 |
| Printing, Publishing and Bookbinding | … | 172 | 5·4 | 167 | 5·2 |
| Hosiery | … | 4,403 | 14·2 | 3,441 | 11·1 |
| Boots, Shoes, Slippers and Clogs | … | 2,176 | 10·5 | 3,720 | 18·0 |
| Distributive Trades | … | 1,003 | 7·3 | 958 | 6·9 |
| All other industries and services | … | 4,048 | 11·5 | 3,811 | 10·8 |
| Total: All industries and services | … | 12,586 | 10·5 | 12,851 | 10·7 |
Durham
asked the Minister of Labour the number of insured workers in the general engineering, marine engineering and building industries registered as unemployed at the Sunderland, Pallion and Southwick-on-Wear employment exchanges at the latest convenient date; and what percentage these figures represent of the insured workers in these industries registered at those exchanges?
, pursuant to his reply [OFFICIAL REPORT, 8th July, 1935; col. 19, Vol. 304], supplied the following statement:Numbers and percentages of insured persons, aged 16–64, recorded as unemployed in the undermentioned industries at Sunderland, Pallion and Southwick-on-Wear Employment Exchanges and Sunderland juvenile employment bureau at 24th June, 1935:
Leicester by industries, numbers and percentages, respectively, for the months of May and June of this year?
The available figures relate to the area served by the Leicester Employment Exchange and juvenile employment bureau. The following table gives the information desired for this area:
| — | Number. | Per cent. of numbers insured at July, 1934. |
| General Engineering | 849 | 46·4 |
| Marine Engineering | 1,390 | 58·4 |
| Building | 1,313 | 31·6 |
Public Health
Diphtheria (Hackney And Bethnal Green)
asked the Minister of Health whether he is aware that the mortality from diphtheria has been higher in Hackney than in Bethnal Green during the past seven years despite the fact that in Hackney an active immunisation campaign has been pursued since 1928 at a cost of £1,896, while in Bethnal Green there has been no immunisation, and that the general mortality is lower in Hackney, both in respect of all ages and also in children under 10 years; and whether he will inquire into the reasons for this?
I understand that the facts are substantially as stated, but no figures of general mortality in children under 10 are available for these boroughs. I am informed that no child immunised against diphtheria in Hackney has died from that disease, and I see no reason for any further inquiry into the matter.
Vaccination And Small-Pox (Statistics)
asked the Minister of Health whether he will give a return showing, in respect of the years 1922 to 1932, the average annual percentage of births vaccinated in each county; and the average annual small-pox case rate per thousand of the population in each county?
Small-pox case rates for each administrative county (including associated county boroughs) have been published for the years from 1922 to 1930, inclusive, in the Registrar-General's Statistical Review for those years (Part I, Table 28), to which I would refer the hon. Member. The publication of these rates was discontinued after 1930; but the numbers of cases are given in Table 29, and the corresponding populations will be found in Table 17 of the Review. It is regretted that percentages of births vaccinated are not available for administrative counties.