asked the Minister of Transport whether, in view of the confusion caused to road users by the lack of uniformity in road signs, he will state what steps he is taking, under his powers of Section 48 of the Road Traffic Act, to remedy this matter?

All new signs must conform with Regulations made under the Section to which the hon. Member refers unless they are specially authorised by me. Highway authorities have been urged to remove unsatisfactory or useless signs, but if the hon. Member will let me know of any case where signs are likely to cause confusion I will gladly have inquiries made.

asked the Minister of Transport whether any action has been taken by the Traffic Advisory Committee since it was set up under the Road and Rail Traffic Act of 1933 to recommend methods by which a larger amount of the transport at present carried by road in this country can be diverted to the coastal shipping services?

I assume my hon. Friend means the Transport Advisory Council which is about to begin a series of investigations into the subject of service and rates in relation to goods traffic borne by rail, canal, road and coastwise shipping.

asked the Minister of Transport whether he will specify the various grades to which the clerical staffs of the Electricity Commissioners are attached?

The higher clerical, clerical, special class, and temporary clerk grades.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what has been the extra cost involved in precautionary or special measures in connection with the Italo-Abyssinian dispute; whether he has any comparable figures of expenses incurred by other members of the League of Nations; and whether the British accounts will be presented to the League so that they may collect the quotas of the various League members?

The provision made in Supplementary Estimates to meet the cost up to 31st March of the special measures in connection with the Italo-Ethiopian dispute is, I understand, approximately seven million pounds. As regards the second part of the question, I regret that no information on this subject is available. The answer to the last part of the question is No, Sir.

asked the Minister of Labour how many young persons under 16 years of age have been transferred from the provinces to the City of London for various kinds of employment since the passing of the 1934 Unemployment Insurance Act; and how many of them have returned to their homes?

pursuant to his reply [OFFICIAL REPORT, 20th February, 1936; col. 1943] supplied the following information:From the end of July, 1934, to 15th February, 1936, 2,139 persons between 14 and 18 years of age were transferred under the Juvenile Transference Scheme to the London County Council area, and of these, 998 were under 16 years of age. It is not known how many young persons transferred on their own account, but the number must have been considerable. During this period 276 young persons under 16 years of age returned home. A number of those who returned home would subsequently re-transfer to employment in another area. The main reason for returning home is home sickness, and it is seldom necessary for a boy to return home because further suitable employment is not immediately available. Every endeavour is made to ensure that the welfare of juveniles transferred under the Department's scheme is adequately supervised. The Department is assisted in many areas by special after-care committees and by voluntary organisations. Hostels are being established in certain districts where there is difficulty in obtaining suitable lodgings. There is reason to hope that with the continuous improvement in the arrangements the percentage of young persons returning home will be substantially reduced.

asked the Minister of Labour whether he will state the number of men, women and young persons who have been transferred to Willesden from the distressed areas during the years 1932, 1933, 1934 and 1935; and how many of these have been placed in employment through the Willesden Employment Bureau?

The following table shows the number of persons transferred under the Ministry's transference schemes from the depressed areas to the Willesden areas during the years 1932, 1933, 1934 and 1935 respectively; all these persons were placed in work, the girls all proceeding to domestic employment.

	Men.	Women.	Boys.	Girls.
1932	1,136	—	—	15
1933	238	—	—	5
1934	168	—	—	8
1935	206	—	—	6
Total	1,748	—	—	34

No information is available regarding the number of persons who have transferred to the area on their own account.

asked the Minister of Labour whether he can state the number of cases in which additional allowance has been granted under the discretionary clause of the unemployment assistance regulations operated by the Unemployment Assistance Board to the persons covered by the Employment Exchange, Walworth Road (Borough), Southwark?

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Normanton (Mr. T. Smith) on 27th February.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury what is the proportion of the expenditure incurred by the Unemployment Assistance Board and public assistance committees on able-bodied unemployed which is being borne by the Treasury and the local authorities, with the estimated cost for the present financial year?

The total sum voted by Parliament in the current year for unemployment allowances, including administration, is £52,230,000. The expenditure of public assistance authorities on relief to the able-bodied unemployed within the scope of the Unemployment Assistance Act is approximately £8,400,000, which is met partly from the Exchequer assistance afforded to local expenditure generally through the block grant, partly by specific Exchequer grants amounting to £5,600,000 under the Unemployment Assistance (Temporary Provisions) Acts and partly from local rates. Taking the assistance afforded through the block grant as £1,900,000, the pro-

Coal Exports from the United Kingdom as a whole and from Bristol Channel orts to certain groups of markets in 1935.
—			From United Kingdom.		From Bristol Channel Ports.
			Thousand statute tons.	Per cent. of total.	Thousand statute tons.	Per cent. of total.
Trade Agreement Countries:
(viz., Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Iceland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Finland, Argentine, Uruguay and Irish Free State).			12,938	33·4	2,496	16·0
Quota Markets:*
(viz., Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, France, Switzerland, Spain, Italy, Turkey and Poland).			16,732	43·2	7,203	46·0
All other markets	…	…	9,044	23·4	5,937	38·0
Total (all destinations)	…	…	38,714	100	15,636	100
* In these markets a small proportion of the trade, for which precise figures are not available, consists of classes of coal not subject to quantitative restriction (e.g., in many cases coal for use as bunkers). With some of these countries Trade Agreements have secured an increase in, or stabilisation of, the coal quota.

The answer to the second part of the question is generally in the affirmative, subject to the qualifications that in many markets the free flow of trade is hampered by Government control of the provision of exchange, and that certain countries possess powers to take action in regard to dumping.

asked the Secretary for Mines whether he will specify from the latest available figures the quantity of coal exported under trade agreements and import quotas and the percentage of these quantities to the total comparable exports; whether the balance tonnage and percentage to the total can be regarded as coal which is unrestricted as to price and delivery and subject only to the ordinary commercial trading conditions as between British exporter and foreign buyer; and what are the figures and percentages included in the above relating solely to the South Wales and Monmouthshire coal exporting area?

The answers to the first and third parts of the question are contained in the following table:

asked the Minister of Pensions whether he will state the number of late claims in Scottish cases which were remitted to an independent medical specialist during the year covered by the last annual report; and in how many cases was the claim subsequently sustained by the Minister?

Six cases were referred for advice to an Independent Medical Specialist during the year referred to. In two only of these cases was his opinion favourable to the claim and both were accepted by the Ministry.

asked the Minister of Pensions whether he will state the number of cases submitted to the pensions appeal tribunals during the year covered by the last annual report, and the number of successful appeals?

During the year 1934–35, the appeals submitted to and decided by the pensions appeal tribunals were 724, of which 170 were successful.

asked the Minister of Pensions how many claims were made for widows' pensions during the year covered by the last annual report; and in what percentage of claims were pensions awarded?

During the year 1,955 claims were made. In 702 cases, or 36 per cent., of the number of claims received in the year, pensions were awarded.

asked the Minister of Health whether his medical staff have formed any opinion as to the cause of the marked increase in the number of deaths certified as being due to erysipelas during the years 1930 to 1934?

The incidence of this disease, the increase of which is only one manifestation of the increased prevalence of a group of diseases of similar causation which has tended to occur in waves of a few years' duration, is receiving the attention of my right hon. Friend's medical advisers, but he is advised that no firm conclusions are at present possible as to the reasons for this periodicity.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he can state the amount of money paid in able-bodied relief by the local authorities in the counties of Midlothian, West Lothian, and Fife for the years 1931 to 1935, inclusive?

The following statement gives the information asked for:

Amount of able-bodied relief paid by the Counties of—
Year ended 15th May.	Midlothian.	West Lothian	Fife.
	£	£	£
1931	2,641	3,855	7,214
1932	3,644	7,509	11,460
1933	7,695	12,113	23,663
1934	9,126	15,705	27,614
1935	10,875	19,491	25,794

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he is aware that stucco-hard wall plaster manufacturers are increasing their prices by 25 to 28 per cent. as compared with November, 1935, which will increase capital costs under the 1930 and 1935 Housing (Scotland) Acts; that the dividends recently declared by the manufacturers prove that increase in prices is unnecessary; and what action will he take to safeguard the Scottish housing authorities from being exploited and to stop this profiteering?

I brought this matter to the notice of the Interdepartmental Committee on the Prices of Building Materials some time ago and they are investigating it. I regret that I am not in a. position to make any further statement at this stage.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether there is any provision in the Congo Basin treaty to prevent a quota being set up for all nations trading with the territories concerned?

The Congo Basin treaties prescribe freedom of trade and the Government are advised that the application of any quota system for regulating imports into the territories covered by the treaties could not be reconciled with them.