asked the Minister of Agriculture whether he has received the decision of the Tariff Advisory Board in respect of the application for a duty on barley?

I have been asked to reply. I have nothing to add to the answer I gave on the 25th February to my hon. Friend the Member for the King's Lynn Division of Norfolk (Mr. Maxwell).

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether complete agreement has yet been reached between the Governments of the United Kingdom, Northern Ireland, and the Irish Free State on the orders to be issued requiring the treatment of cattle infested with warble-fly maggot; if orders have been issued; and, if so, when were they made available to those in the industry in Scotland?

As indicated in the answer I gave on the 9th December to the hon. Member for East Birkenhead (Mr. White), agreement was reached, in principle, in December between the Governments of Great Britain, Northern Ireland and the Irish Free State on the question of the desirability of the issue of Orders requiring the treatment of cattle infested with the warble-fly maggot. In accordance with this agreement, Orders were issued by the Government of the Irish Free State on the 29th January and by the respective Ministries in Great Britain and Northern Ireland on the 31st January; the Great Britain Order has since been widely circulated by the local authorities in Scotland as well as in England and Wales.

asked the Minister of Health whether, in view of the widespread demand for an alteration in the law with respect to a married couple living together on one pension of 10s. per week by reason of the wife not having attained pensionable age, he will endeavour to obtain the approximate number of such couples?

I do not consider that the inquiries that would be necessary to obtain this information would be justified.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether his attention has been called to cases of death and bankruptcy in which it is revealed that individuals in receipt of large incomes have been allowed to accumulate large arrears of Income Tax over a long period of years; and whether he proposes to introduce legislation to amend the existing Income Tax regulations and secure that such arrears do not accumulate

The cases which are alluded to in the question are few in number and have presented difficulties in collection of an unusual character, which would not be removed by any alteration in the existing Income Tax law.

asked the Minister of Labour whether he will state the number of unemployed men, women, and young people, respectively, resident in Leyton and registered at the Lea Bridge exchange in the first weeks of February, 1936, 1935, and 1931?

The latest available statistics relate to 20th January, 1936. The following table gives the desired statistics for January, 1936, January, 1935, and January, 1933, the earliest date for which figures classified by place of residence have been obtained:

asked the Minister of Labour whether he will give the number of persons in receipt of transitional payments in each Employment Exchange area in the county of Cumberland, with the weekly cost of benefit, during the three months ended December, 1934, and December, 1935, respectively, and the cost had ordinary insurance benefits applied?

As regards the first part of the question, I am having the figures extracted and will circulate a statement in the OFFICIAL REPORT as soon as they are available. As regards the second part of the question, the cost had insurance benefit been paid could not be ascertained without an examination of each individual case and I should not feel justified in authorising such an examination.

asked the Minister of Labour whether the county borough of Bootle is amongst those areas scheduled as suffering from severe and prolonged unemployment and therefore entitled to preference in the allocation of Government contracts

Yes, Sir.

asked the Minister of Labour whether he is aware that in Lanarkshire the Unemployment Assistance Board is applying the means test to the recent wages increase given to miners in cases where the applicant for relief has a member of his family employed in the mines and coming under the recent wages advance; and will he issue instructions to the Unemployment Assistance Board to stop this practice, in order that the miners may get the full advantage of the wages advance which has been granted to them in consequence of the community generally agreeing to an increase in the price of coal?

I would refer the hon. Member to my reply to a similar question put by the hon. Member for Mansfield (Mr. C. Brown) on 20th February.

asked the Minister of Labour whether he will state the number of persons, specifying men, women, boys, and girls, on the registers of the Walworth Road (Borough) Employment Exchange for each of the Mondays in January, 1936

The numbers of unemployed persons on the registers of the Borough (Walworth Road) Employment Exchange at 20th January, 1936, the only date in the month for which these statistics are available, were:

asked the Minister of Labour how many unemployed young men from the distressed or other areas have been trained as potmen and barmen by his Department; whether any of the cost of such training for service in the licensed trade is borne by the Treasury; and whether any other trade or profession is similarly served?

The training to which the hon. Member refers is given, not by my Department, but by the Restaurant Public Houses Association which, up to the end of 1935, had trained 383 men from the depresed areas and had 29 still in training. The cost of medical examination and travelling to the place of training and to subsequent employment is borne by the Department, and since September, 1935, the Association also receives a capitation grant of £2 for each man placed in excess of 50 per annum, subject to a limit of 400. The grant referred to is not paid direct to members of the licensed trade in whose premises the men are trained, but to the Association in respect of the expenses of training, placing, supervision and welfare of the men. In the Government Training Centres men are given training in various types of industry and at the present time about 25 occupations are covered. In addition, the Ministry makes grants to other bodies for the training of men as waiters, cooks and for private domestic service.

asked the Attorney-General whether he will state the names, ages, and date of appointment of members of the Doncaster magistrates bench?

I regret that this information is not available, and could not be collected without an undue expenditure of public time.

asked the Attorney General whether he will state the personnel of the Doncaster advisory committee responsible for recommending appointments to the magistrates bench?

The names of the advisory committee for the appointment of justices of the peace in Doncaster are Mr. E. S. Knight, Major M. E. Clark and Mr. H. F. Heaviside.

asked the Secretary of State for War what progress has been made in the mechanisation of office methods during the past 12 months in War Office and the outstations?

No additional mechanical methods have been introduced in the War Office during the past 12 months. As regards outstations, they have now been, or are in course of being, established in all central ordnance depots for store-accounting and contract payments, while trials are being carried out mechanical wage-accounting and costing in ordnance workshops and on

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty whether it is the intention of the Government to establish a submarine base in the Bristol Channel, and where it will be located?

No such proposal is under consideration.

asked the Minister of Pensions whether he will state the total number and total cost to date of pensions awarded as a result of the Great War; the number of women in receipt of, and annual cost of, widows' and dependants' pensions; the number of children in receipt of, and annual cost of, orphans' pensions; the number of men in receipt of, and annual cost of, pensions awarded for blindness; and the number of men the in receipt of treatment in institutions and annual cost thereof?

The following are the particulars desired. They relate in every case to the year or period ending the 31st of the current month, and to this limited extent are approximate only. In each case the figures include pensioners of officer as well as men of non-comommissioned rank, and their dependants respectively:

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty whether he is aware that during British manoeuvres in the Mediterranean, depth charges sent Italian submarines to the surface; can he state the character of these depth charges; and whether the knowledge is in the possession of any other country'?

The suggestion contained in the first part of the question is without foundation. The second part of the question, therefore, does not arise.

asked the President of the Board of Education whether he will consider raising the status of all supplementary teachers with 15 years' service or more so that they may be eligible to join the school teachers' superannuation scheme from which they are at present debarred?

I do not think that it would be proper for me to admit by administrative action to the benefits of the Teachers (Superannuation) Acts members of the supplementary grade of teachers whom Parliament, after full consideration, decided to exclude from the scope of these Acts.

asked the President of the Board of Education whether he will state the number of children attending voluntary schools at the last available date?

The numbers on the registers of voluntary public elementary schools maintained by local education authorities on the 31st March, 1935, was 1,693,736.

asked the President of the Board of Education what provisions for secondary education are provided by voluntary schools; and what is the number of such voluntary secondary schools?

On the 1st October, 1935, there were 630 grant-aided secondary schools not provided by local education authorities, the pupils in attendance at which numbered 119,056 boys and 85,609 girls.