asked the Minister of Labour whether His Majesty's Government have come to any decision as to the introduction of legislation to carry out the recommendations of the Unemployment Insurance Statutory Commission that the salary limit for unemployment insurance for non-manual workers should be raised from £250 to £400 per annum?

No, Sir.

Can the right hon. Gentleman say when he is likely to be able to make a statement?

Not at the moment.

Does the right hon. Gentleman recall the promise he made to introduce legislation of this character very shortly?

No, I recall no such promise.

asked the Minister of Labour whether he will make a statement upon the investigations his Department has made, together with the Ministry of Transport, into the ways and means of providing work for young men from the Special Areas under the Trunk Roads Act?

My right hon. Friend the Minister of Transport has decided, in consultation with me, that he will endeavour to secure that all workpeople employed by contractors (except a percentage for supervisory purposes) and any additional workpeople employed by local authorities on works of construction or improvement of trunk roads, undertaken after 1st April next, shall be engaged through the Employment Exchanges. In filling these vacancies, the Exchanges will take every proper opportunity to submit suitable men from the Special Areas and other areas of heavy unemployment, and will pay special attention to the claims of young men who have successfully completed a course at an instructional centre.

Will the Minister not forget the semi-depressed areas, where there are thousands of unemployed? I hope they will get employment in their own area.

In this case, the question is about the Special Areas.

asked the Minister of Labour whether he is aware that, owing to the delayed decision respecting a trading estate for West Cumberland, potential new industries are being held up; and whether it has now been decided to establish a trading estate for West Cumberland Special Area?

This question is being considered as part of the general proposals to be embodied in the forthcoming legislation dealing with the Special Areas. In the circumstances I am not in a position to give a more definite reply at the moment.

Is it not a fact that the Commissioner for Special Areas indicated that the principle of trading estates had already been agreed upon, and is it not a further fact that some months ago I put a similar question and was given the answer that the matter was receiving consideration? When may we expect a definite reply?

When it can be related to proposals in the Bill. We shall have this matter very much in mind.

asked the Minister of Labour whether he is now in a position to state when the Special Areas Bill will be introduced?

I have nothing to add to the answer which I gave to the hon. Member for Spennymoor (Mr. Batey) on Thursday last.

Can the right hon. Gentleman give an approximate date when this Bill will be introduced? Many questions have been asked with regard to schemes of work for the Special Areas and we have been told time and again to wait for the introduction of the Bill. Can he give a date for the Bill?

I cannot give a date.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that when this matter was last debated in the House Members on both sides were influenced by the statement which the right hon. Gentleman made to the effect that a Bill would be introduced before the end of January?

That was not the statement made. The statement made was that the Bill would be introduced soon after the House met in January.

Have the Government got a Bill at all?

In view of the Minister's statement is it not possible for him to give some idea of the approximate date of the introduction of the Bill and what is the reason for the delay?

The reason is that we want to do the very best we can for these areas.

asked the Minister of Labour how many persons have been transferred from Whitehaven, Cleator Moor, Egremont, and Millom areas, men and women separately, under the transfer scheme, during the 12 months ended 3ist December, 1936, showing each month separately?

As the reply involves a table of figures, I will circulate it, with the hon. Member's permission, in the OFFICIAL REPORT.

asked the Minister of Labour the number of areas where unemployment assistance boards are still operating the original rent rule fixing basic rent as one-fourth of the provisional allowance?

I assume the hon. Member is referring to adjustments in allowances when the rent paid is less than one-fourth of the scale rates of the household. I am informed by the board that under the recommendations of the local advisory committees concerned such adjustments to the extent of the full difference are being made as a general rule in four areas only, all of which are substantially rural in character. Some 20 of the remaining 122 committees have made recommendations under which adjustments to the extent of the full difference are made in specific classes of cases such as applicants in households with resources and applicants living in the rural parts of an area.

Would it not be for the convenience of hon. Members who are interested in this question if the right hon. Gentleman made available in the House in some way or another the rentals that have now been adopted as a result of the committees' recommendations.

I will consider that.

Can the right hon. Gentleman give the four areas where this applies?

Not at the moment, but I will consider the form in which this information can best be given to hon. Members.

asked the Minister of Labour the percentage of unemployed persons who have received increased payments from local unemployment assistance boards since the revised Regulations came into force; whether the percentage in the county of Fife is above or below that in other areas; and whether any sub-district in Fife has a higher proportion of unemployed receiving such increases than the other sub-districts of the county?

Of the total number of persons in Great Britain who were in receipt of unemployment assistance and whose circumstances had remained unchanged since the last assessment under the old Regulations, about 36 per cent. received increased payments under the new Regulations. Particulars relating only to the county of Fife are not available, but in the board's areas of Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy, which together cover the counties of Fife and Kinross, the combined percentage was about pi, while for the two areas separately the percentages were about 30 and 32 respectively.

asked the Minister of Labour whether he is now in a position to make a statement as regards the monetary concession the Unemployment Assistance Board are prepared to make to the unemployed in Coronation week?

I expect to be in a position to make a statement on this subject in the near future.

asked the Minister of Labour whether he is aware that, where an ex-service unemployed person is in receipt of £1 per week disability pension, 4s. is being deducted as representing an allowance for the wife; and whether the Unemployment Assistance Board have considered such a deduction in the light of recent Regulations?

No such deduction is made in the case of a disability pension of or less which does not include a supplementary allowance for dependants. When there is such a supplementary allowance the board have no authority for leaving it out of account.

Is the right hon. Gentleman not aware that deductions have taken place and that cases have been sent to the Ministry of Labour showing that the 4s. referred to in the question have actually been deducted since 1937 came in?

No, I am not aware of that, but I am aware that the law makes it quite plain in Section 38 (3, b) of the 1934 Act.

As deductions of this 4s. have taken place and cases have been sent to the right hon. Gentleman's Department, will he see that the area officers are circularised on that point?

As the hon. Member has sent me cases, I will have them inquired into, and if he has a special case to send in, I will have that inquired into; but that is the law.

May I ask the Minister whether he will speak a little more slowly, as it is most difficult to catch what he says?

asked the Minister of Labour in how many cases where young men and women have been found work in the Birmingham area by the Birmingham association for the relief of distressed areas the Unemployment Assistance Board have assisted parents to follow their children; and what was the nature of the assistance given?

It is not possible in all instances to identify cases with which this association has been connected, but since the inception of the scheme, application has been made to the Unemployment Assistance Board in the Birmingham area in 21 cases in respect of parents who have rejoined their children under the family removal scheme. In six of the cases the head of the household found work shortly after arrival and no special action was taken; in 11 others, special financial assistance by way of adjustment of allowance has been given by the board while in the remaining four cases the circumstances of the reunited household have been such that no special action has been regarded as necessary.

When a son or daughter has left South Wales or the North-East Coast, having found a situation in Birmingham, and the parents have followed, has the application of the means test been deferred in any case?

That is another question. I have answered the question put by the hon. Member, and if he wishes me to answer this question, perhaps he will put it down.

Will the Minister be good enough to tell us what he means when he says that financial assistance has been rendered to 11 families?

If I am asked, I will certainly do so, but I have answered the question on the Paper.

asked the Minister of Labour how many men attended, respectively, training centres and instruction centres in South Wales; and what percentage obtained employment from each of these classes of centre?

There are two centres in South Wales, at Pentrebach and at Brechfa, near Llandilo. The former is a preparatory centre where the training is designed to fit men for vocational training and, up to the end of January, 1937, 786 men had been transferred to Government training centres for this purpose. Information as to the number of these men who obtained employment is not available, but the percentage is probably not below the average for the whole country, namely, 97 per cent. Brechfa is an instructional centre and the number of men who have been admitted there is 3,140, of whom all but a small proportion came from South Wales. Approximately, 16 per cent. entered employment either direct from the centre or after transfer to a centre in England.

Do I gather from the Minister that 97 per cent. of the men sent to the instructional centre at Brechfa have been provided with employment?

No, that is not the answer. The first part of the answer referred to the centre at Pentrebach.

asked the Minister of Labour whether, in view of the success of the nutrition and special health training experiment carried out on certain selected recruits, he will examine the details of the scheme with the object of formulating a plan for use on unemployed men who are below a proper standard of health?

I will consider my hon. Friend's suggestion.

Will the right hon. Gentleman undertake that after he has considered the suggestion he will give his considered opinion to the House?

I will consider the suggestion first.

asked the Minister of Labour whether he can give any information on the results of the work of the Permanent Emigration Committee of the International Labour Office; whether His Majesty's Government have been consulted as to the interest it would attach to a meeting of a conference of experts on the subject of immigration both as it affects European and Latin American countries, with a view to a settlement; and, if so, what reply was given?

The Permanent Migration Committee of the Governing Body of the International Labour Office met on 16th and 17th November, 1936, and adopted a report which included a recommendation that the members of the organisation should be consulted as to the interest they would attach to a conference of the kind referred to in the question. This report is to be considered by the Governing Body at its meeting which opens in Geneva to-day.

Will the right hon. Gentleman, when consultations take place, remember that it is only by international arrangements that the man-hunger of the Dominions can be satisfied?

Yes, but the hon. Member will understand that that is premature at the moment. We do not know whether the Governing Body will decide to consult the States Members.

asked the Minister of Labour what were the total amount of wage increases and the number of wage-earners affected negotiated by the trade unions and the employers' organisations for the year ended 1936; the total number and the amount of increases of wages regulated by the cost-of-living scale in accordance with the Board of Trade Gazette calculations; and the total number and the amount of wage increases given by employers after agreement has been reached by the employers' organisations and the trade unions?

The available information on this subject is published on pages 3 to 5 of the January issue of the Ministry of Labour Gazette, a copy of which I am sending to the hon. Member.

asked the Minister of Labour whether he is aware that under the agreement between the Government and the staff side of the Civil Service National Whitley Council a tribunal has been instituted to arbitrate on appropriate matters in dispute between the administration and the staffs of Government Departments; that the staff organisation concerned, having failed to obtain a reply from the Admiralty between the period July to November to its request that there should be arbitration on the question of the pay of locally-entered staffs at Malta by the industrial court, has now asked the Admiralty to agree to arbitration by the Civil Service arbitration tribunal, but is still unable to secure any reply from that Department; and whether he is prepared to agree that the industrial relations machinery of his Department shall be utilised forthwith to decide the matters in issue between the Board of Admiralty and the locally-entered staffs at Malta?

As stated yesterday by my right hon. Friend the First Lord of the Admiralty a communication will be sent by him to the association in the course of the next few days.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how far preparations for the storage of gas-masks have progressed; and whether he can state the maximum number it is intended to store in any one warehouse which will allow of their expeditious distribution in time of emergency?.

Two regional store depots for the storage of gas masks have been acquired, one at Manchester and one in the London district. These have between them a capacity of about 4,000,000 gas-masks and facilities for their inspection and preservation. Eleven more regional store depots will be needed and urgent steps are being taken to obtain them. The system of distribution from these regional store depots is now under investigation and it is hoped that a suitable working arrangement will he devised which will include the use of local store depots, each with a capacity of about 30,000 gas-masks. Ultimately the regional depots will be used to house the reserves of gas-masks and of other stores required in connection with air raid precautions, some of which are of a bulky character.

Is it not the case that these gas-masks will have very much deteriorated before the war starts?

We hope so.

No, Sir; special technical precautions have been taken so that these gas-masks will not deteriorate.

asked the Home Secretary what steps are being taken to adapt parts of homes and places of work in London and other centres so as to convert them into shelters which are gas-proof and splinter-proof?

The adaptation of rooms and other places as air raid shelters would for the most part fall to be carried out when the risk of air attack appeared to be imminent. Information on the steps to be taken is contained, as regards industrial premises, in a handbook for factories and business premises already published by the Air Raid Precautions Department. As regards private houses, a certain amount of information has already been given in the handbook called "Personal Protection against Gas." I am sending the hon. Member a copy of each of these publications. More detailed information as regards private houses will be given in a handbook which is in an advanced state of preparation. The structural aspects of air raid shelters in new buildings are under examination.

Will not the provision of these shelters be too late when the risks are imminent?

I think the hon. Gentleman and I are a little at cross purposes. I was referring to shelters in the sense of rooms in private houses and factories being made gas-proof and splinter-proof. If private persons carry out the advice contained in the publication which will be issued shortly, to ear-mark a room in each house for this purpose, the actual preparations which will have to be made at the time will not take long.

Will the Government consider the desirability of obtaining powers enabling them to insist, in connection with the erection of new factories, on gas-proof and bomb-proof shelters being provided?

I would like notice of that question.

Can the hon. Gentleman say whether any attempt is being made to make this place gas-proof?

asked the Home Secretary how many motor cars are used by the management of the State traffic in liquor in Carlisle for the purposes of their business?

Five.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will take an early opportunity to review the sentences passed at the Worksop court on Howarth miners for alleged breaches of the peace; and, in view of the circumstances obtaining in the area where a strike is in progress, will he consider remitting part of the sentences?

The Home Secretary is not authorised to act as a court of appeal for the purpose of reviewing sentences. My duty is limited to considering whether in any particular case there are special grounds which would justify me in advising that the prerogative of mercy should be exercised. I know of no such grounds in the cases to which the hon. Member refers.

Has the right hon. Gentleman examined these cases at all, and, if so, is he not aware that the crime of these men was merely a minor indiscretion; and for the purpose of creating "sweet reasonableness" in the district; and if he has not reviewed these cases, will he do so with a view to exercising clemancy?

I have looked at the schedule which contains all the cases and the punishments which were inflicted by the court. I have read some material about the cases but I will gladly look into the matter further.

May I ask the right hon. Gentleman to give the legal position in this area his special attention as the owner of the colliery concerned is chairman of the county council and is in very close touch with the chief constable?

Order.

asked the Home Secretary what were the circumstances of the transfer in November, 1935, from Wakefield Prison to Wormwood Scrubs Prison of Cecil Chapman, serving a sentence of three years' penal servitude for forgery; whether other prisoners serving terms of penal servitude have been transferred to Wormwood Scrubs; and who paid the cost of Cecil Chapman's removal to Wormwoood Scrubs for a period of 17 weeks?

The prisoner in question was transferred temporarily to Wormwood Scrubs Prison in pursuance of an order under Section 11 of the Prison Act, 1898, directing his production to give evidence in criminal proceedings then pending in London, and he was re-transferred after the conclusion of those proceedings. It is not uncommon for a prisoner who is in a prison at a distance to be transferred temporarily to a London prison if his presence is required to give evidence, but I could not say without detailed inquiry in how many cases such transfers have occurred. Such small expenses as may be involved normally fall upon the Prison Vote.

Will the right hon. Gentleman look further into the case and see whether it is necessary for this man to be here for as long a period as 17 weeks in order to give evidence?

I will look into that.

asked the Home Secretary the number of officers who in 1936 were removed from duty at Wormwood Scrubs prison; and what were the reasons assigned for such removal?

During 1936, 16 officers —excluding those who retired on superannuation—ceased duty at Wormwood Scrubs prison. Of these, 11 left on promotion or transfer to other establishments for service reasons; three resigned (two of them giving the reason that they wished to take up other work); and the engagements of two were terminated during the probationary period as not being fully qualified for the post of prison officer.

asked the Home Secretary the number of hours considered as duty period in which police constables are employed in the Metropolitan police area on traffic duty; and the number of cases during the previous three years in which evidence has been submitted to him of illness or overstrain resulting from the length of this duty period?

The maximum daily period during which constables are employed on traffic duty is eight hours with a break of half-an-hour for refreshment. No cases have been recorded in which illness or overstrain has been attributed to the length of this duty period.

Does the eight-hour rule apply also to men who are on point duty at congested places?

I have answered the question on the Paper and I am afraid I could not answer the supplementary question without notice.

Is the half-hour included or additional?

asked the Home Secretary whether any obstruction to vehicular traffic occurred in Westway, Hammersmith, as a result of the demonstration by certain pedestrians on the afternoon of 31st January; whether any accidents resultant therefrom were reported to the police; and whether any prosecutions of motorists, pedestrians, or the organisers of the demonstration are contemplated?

I am informed by the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis that vehicular traffic was somewhat impeded, but no serious obstruction was caused on the occasion in question. No accidents resulting from the demonstration were reported to the police; and no proceedings are contemplated against any motorist or pedestrian or against the organisers of the demonstration.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that a number of motorists were threatened on this occasion by pedestrians in the neighbourhood; and can he say what gives rise to this indignation in that part of the world when it has been remarkably free from accidents according to all the statistics that have been published?

I cannot answer that.

asked the Home Secretary in how many cases, for the last 12 months for which figures are available, proceedings were taken for manslaughter arising out of fatal road accidents; in how many cases were convictions registered; in how many cases of such convictions was sentence of imprisonment passed; and in how many cases were convictions quashed on appeal?

According to the latest available information the number of cases in 1936 in which a motor traffic fatality resulted in a committal for trial for manslaughter was 95. In six of these cases the result of the trial is not yet known. In 20 cases there was a conviction of manslaughter and in 19 of those cases a sentence of imprisonment was imposed. I am not yet in a position to say in how many cases, if any, there was a successful appeal against conviction.

asked the Home Secretary whether he will now consider making arrangements for police reports of street accidents to be made available to an injured person, or the relatives of one killed, without the payment of a fee of 10s. which is often beyond the means of poor people to pay?

It has been the practice for some years for chief officers of police to exercise their discretion to reduce or waive this charge in all suitable cases, particularly where the full charge would involve hardships, and I have no reason to suppose that this practice does not work satisfactorily.

Will the right hon. Gentleman inquire as to the proportion of cases in which there has been any waiver or remission of the fee, and if that has been done in only a small number of cases will he reconsider the question of totally abolishing the fee?

As I have said, each chief officer of police has a discretion in this matter, but I will gladly look further into the question, and perhaps the hon. Member will give me any information he may have.

asked the Home Secretary whether he is aware of two further recent cases of persecution by members of the Press; that in one case the coroner commented on a Press photographer's disregard of the decencies of the case and in the other the coroner censured members of the Press for behaving callously to a young girl whose fiancé had been found gassed; and whether he will take further steps to compel the Newspaper Proprietors' Association to stop the suffering caused by these intrusions by their representatives?

asked the Home Secretary whether his attention has been drawn to a case in the St. Pancras coroner's court last Friday when it appeared that a journalist and a Press photographer obtained admission to St. Mary's Hospital, Islington, and the coroner commented on their scant regard for decencies in their treatment of a dying patient; also to a case when the North Dorset coroner last week censured Press representatives for having treated a young girl callously after the suicide of her fiancé in order to make a sensational story for their papers; and whether, seeing the recurrence of such cases, the Government will give facilities for the passage of the Journalists (Registration) Bill, now before the House, whereby such conduct would come under disciplinary review by a body representative of all branches of the journalistic profession?

As I indicated in reply to a question by my hon. Friend the Member for South Kensington (Sir W. Davison) last week, I am in communication with the Newspaper Proprietors' Association and the Newspaper Society on the whole subject, and I am sending those bodies these further instances of complaint.

May I ask the right hon. Gentleman whether he will not in this and similar cases of this sort communicate with the coroners concerned and find out which of the Press agencies or journals are continuing activities of this sort, with a view to communicating if necessary with the editors of the papers concerned?

I think I am right in saying that we did communicate with the coroner in one of these cases to confirm the facts, but I am not sure that we asked what the newspaper was, or whether the coroner would necessarily know. I think the subject is one of rather general importance and ought to be regarded as such.

As the universal opinion in this House seems to be disregarded by the newspapers, could not the right hon. Gentleman take further and more drastic action in the matter?

I think the right thing to do, having communicated with these two important bodies, is to await their full reply. As I have said, I am reminding them that other cases are now being quoted and am sending those cases to them for their further consideration.

Will my right hon. Friend communicate with the Newspaper Proprietors' Association and draw attention to the fact that there is such a rising indignation among those affected by these people who exploit human grief, that there is serious danger of a breach of the peace being created?

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that the journalists and photographers who are sent upon these tasks detest being sent upon them, and that the responsibility lies fairly and squarely upon the shoulders of the proprietors of the newspapers?

Will my right hon. Friend bear in mind in considering this matter that the great bulk of the Press deplore these methods as much as anybody else, and will he, while bearing in mind that they would welcome steps to restrain the licence of a section of the Press, see that the liberty of the Press is safeguarded? Will he also bear in mind that the Bill referred to has not the support of the great majority of working journalists?

asked the Home Secretary whether he has any information as to the rates of pay and working conditions of the 120 German building operatives now employed at the German Embassy and whether they are paid in British currency; the number of applications received for permits for the entry into this country of these German workmen; and the actual number of permits granted and the dates thereof?

I have no information about the matters raised in the first part of the question. Permission has been given up to the present for the temporary admission of 145 German workmen for work on the German Embassy, and of these 16 have already returned to Germany. Sixty-six arrived in batches during November, 40 in December, and the balance on various dates up to and including the 1st instant. Since the hon. Member raised this matter on 28th January the Foreign Office has been in communication with the German Embassy and has received the assurance that only a few more men will be required to complete the work.

Is it impossible for the Home Secretary to tell us how many permits have been granted? The same question was put last week and I am asking again now whether permits have been granted in these cases?

Perhaps the hon. Gentleman did not catch the beginning of my answer. I said that permission has been given up to the present for the temporary admission of 145 German workmen.

Do I understand that permits have been granted in those cases?

Yes, Sir.

Then cannot the right hon. Gentleman get the information as to the rates of wages and conditions under which these men have been employed? Are they being paid any wages at all, or are they just being kept and will they have their wages, if any, paid when they get back to Germany? Is that not a violation of the Truck Act? Is it not possible for us to have some information why these 150 building trade operatives were brought into this country when there are any number of men capable of doing the same class of work at the Employment Exchanges?

What about the international brotherhood?

I will see whether the information can be ascertained, but I am sure the hon. Member will appreciate that while the Home Office is naturally able to answer whether permits have been given, it is not ordinarily within the scope of the Home Office to ascertain when a permit is given what the rate of wages is. I have no reason to think that wages have not been paid.

Will the right hon. Gentleman inform the hon. Member behind him on the question of international brotherhood that we are willing to acknowledge it as long as trade union standards are being observed, but not Nazi standards?

Is the importation of men to make alterations in Embassies in accordance with precedent and practice? Do we follow this practice in making alterations to British Embassies abroad?

That question was put as a Supplementary question the other day, and I replied by saying that I was not exactly informed, but that we should certainly expect reasonable courtesy if it were necessary in respect of any of our Embassies abroad.

asked the Home Secretary whether any further consideration has been given to the provision of an alternative modern and sanitary prison in the place of Pentonville?

This question has been frequently considered, but in view of the difficulty of providing alternative accommodation I am unable to hold out any prospect that it will be possible to discontinue the use of Pentonville Prison. I recognise that it would be advantageous if another prison could be opened in a less crowded area, but I know of no reason for complaint as to the sanitary condition of Pentonville.

asked the Home Secretary whether he will introduce legislation to repeal at an early date the statute 27 Henry VIII, c. 26, s. 20, which provides that any person or persons holding any office or fees in England or Wales must upon pain of forfeiture use and exercise the English language?

The hon. Member will be relieved to know that the enactment to which he refers was repealed 50 years ago by the Statute Law Revision Act, 1887.

asked the Home Secretary whether he has seen the report of the case of Mr. John Herbert, Troedyrhiw, Bwlchyllan, Cardiganshire, who was fined £1 by Mr. Justice Lawrence at the Cardiganshire Assizes, held at Lam-peter, on 25th January, because he did not respond to his name when the jurors list was called on 23rd January; whether, as Mr. Herbert's absence was due entirely to misunderstanding and ignorance, he will take steps to ascertain whether the misunderstanding could have been avoided if the communication had been made in Welsh; and whether, if that proves to have been the case, he will remit the fine?

I have no information as to this case, and the matter is not one in which I have any jurisdiction. Provision is made in Section 12 of the Juries Act, 1862, whereby a fine imposed on a juror for non-attendance may be remitted on application being made in proper form to the court by which the fine was imposed.

asked the Home Secretary whether he can arrange for the publication of the annual report of the Factory Department at an earlier date than has been the case hitherto?

As the hon. Member is aware, the preparation of this volume involves considerable labour, and I am afraid I can hold out no prospect of any substantial change in the time of publication without drastically shortening the report.

Does it not seem strange that nearly every other Government Department is able to issue its report earlier than the Factory Department?

I have no doubt the hon. Gentleman's recollection will serve him that that was so in his time.

asked the Home Secretary on what date he learnt that there was being organised within the Irish Free State by General O'Duffy an expedition to fight against the Government in Spain; whether and when he also learnt that appeals were being made to men in Ireland, contrary to the Foreign Enlistment Act, 1870, as interpreted by His Majesty's Government in Great Britain; what steps he took to prevent this expedition or any men in it using the territory or ports of Great Britain as a base for departure for Spain; and, in particular, were steps taken to prevent General O'Duffy and certain of his adherents sailing from Liverpool?

The Home Office had no previous information on the points referred to in the first two parts of the question. As regards the remainder, I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply which I gave to a similar question by the hon. Member for East Wolverhampton (Mr. Mander) on 21st January.

Was the expedition that was organised considered to be contrary to the Foreign Enlistment Act, 1870, and, if so, why was no action taken against it?

If the hon. Member will refer to the answer I gave the other day he will see what I said.

What action was taken to prevent people from this island going out to help the Reds?

Is my right hon. Friend aware there are other members of the Irish Republican Army who are showing the impartiality of the Irish Free State by fighting on the other side?

asked the Home Secretary whether he will issue a White Paper for the guidance of Members setting out the additions to the law incorporated in the new Factories Bill?

Yes, Sir, a White Paper for this purpose has been presented, and should be available for Members this evening.

asked the Home Secretary whether he has considered the communication sent to him to the effect that a Mr. K. C. Gandar Dower has brought a team of recently-captured cheetahs to England to be used for coursing with live game; and if he will inquire into the matter with a view to prohibiting this new form of cruelty?

The control of the admission of live animals into this country does not rest with my Department. As a result of the communication referred to, I made inquiries and am informed that 12 cheetahs are now in this country in quarantine for six months, but I have no information of the purpose for which they were imported.

In view of the question, will the right hon. Gentleman address himself to seeing that this purpose is prohibited?

For my part, I should certainly do all I could to enforce the law against cruelty to dumb animals, but I do not know anything about this particular case.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that "cheaters" have often been seen on these tracks before?

asked the Home Secretary how many policemen are employed as a whole-time occupation to protect Fascist premises in Great Smith Street and elsewhere; and what contribution towards the financial cost of this is made from the Fascist funds?

I am informed by the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis that, since an attempt was made in October last to set fire to the Fascist premises in Green Street, Bethnal Green, a constable has been posted outside this building from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. nightly. The second part of the question does not arise, since the duties performed by the constable are ordinary protection duties which would be afforded to any premises in similar circumstances.

This question concerns Great Smith Street, and not Green Street.

I said that an attempt had been made to set fire to Fascist premises in Green Street, Bethnal Green, and that is quite correct.

The right hon. Gentleman did not say whether the premises in Great Smith Street are being protected.

I will inquire about that. I do not know the geography of these places as well as some of my hon. Friends appear to know it.

asked the Home Secretary whether, in connection with the removal of the police college from Hendon, the expenditure at Hendon of £20,300 on buildings, £5,400 on furnishing, £4,000 on the grounds, £2,800 on the police laboratory, and £3,650 on equipment of the mess, must be regarded as a total loss or, if not, how much must be regarded as a loss?

The figures given relate to the financial year 1934–35 and represent only part of the capital expenditure in question. There is no reason to regard any of this expenditure as a dead loss. On the removal of the college from Hendon the buildings and grounds which it now occupies, together with furniture and equipment, except so far as these may be transferred to the new college building, will be used for the proposed new training school or other police purposes. There is at present no proposal for the removal of the police laboratory from Hendon.

Is it not a serious reflection upon the wisdom of the authorities concerned that this heavy expenditure should have been incurred upon premises which have been so quickly found to be unsuitable for their purpose?

No, I do not think so.

asked the Home Secretary what was the capital cost of establishing the police college at Hendon; what pay and allowances are received by trainees; if any allowances are paid in respect of wives or rent; what is the cost per officer trained, taking the capital expenditure on the college, the establishment and upkeep charges of the college, and the pay and allowances of trainees all into account; and whether he is aware that, in evidence given before the Public Accounts Committee in 1936, it was not disputed that the total cost of training a police officer for two years at Hendon was £1,500?

This question can only properly be answered by giving a large number of figures and explaining the relation between them. I will circulate detailed figures in the OFFICIAL REPORT, but I may say now that the hon. and gallant Member is mistaken in the suggestion contained in the last part of his question.

asked the Home Secretary whether he is aware that Captain MacMichael, the honorary director of the Performing and Captive Animals Defence League, has been committed to prison in consequence of his activities in defence of animals; and when he is likely to be released, as he has not been sentenced to any specific term of imprisonment?

I find that Captain MacMichael was committed to prison by the Judge of a County Court for contempt of court. I have no authority to order his release—that is a matter for the Judge.

But is it not possible to find out how long he is likely to be in prison?

He will be in prison till he purges his contempt.

asked the Prime Minister where the original of the Instrument of Abdication, executed by King Edward VIII, has been placed; and whether he will make such provision that this document shall be preserved in the Palace of Westminster and made accessible to the public in the same manner as other historical Parliamentary documents?

So far as the United Kingdom is concerned the Instrument to which my hon. Friend refers has been placed in the Privy Council Register. The suggestion made in the second part of the question is one I do not feel able to adopt. The Instrument, however, in due course will be transferred to the Public Record Office which is its proper eventual repository, and subject to the Rules of the Master of the Rolls will become open to public inspection like other entries in the Register.

asked the Prime Minister whether he has considered the letter from the secretary of Leigh Labour Club informing him of a resolution carried at a meeting of the members asking him to reconsider the position of the five discharged dockyard workers; and will he say whether he will accede to the request?

I have received a copy of the communication referred to by the hon. Member, but I have nothing to add to what I have already said on this subject.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that the defence which he put up on 26th January is the worst which he has ever made from that Box?

asked the President of the Board of Education the number of physical training organisers in employment in the schools of England and Wales, giving separate figures for Lancashire?

There are 236 organisers of physical training in England and Wales, employed by 170 local education authorities. In the geographical county of Lancashire there are 28 organisers, employed by 17 local education authorities. The county local education authority has recently appointed two organisers.

asked the President of the Board of Education the number of head teachers responsible for any one class, giving separate figures for Lancashire; and whether any action is being taken to render this unnecessary?

In England and Wales on 31st March, 1936, there were 17,409 head teachers (out of a total of 29,479) in charge of a class. The corresponding figures for Lancashire were 1,485 and 3,177. The number and proportion of head teachers in charge of a class are decreasing year by year, and I do not think any special action is called for at the present time.

asked the President of the Board of Education whether, in view of the number of schools closed and the number of teachers and scholars affected by the influenza epidemic, he will consider the advisability of postponing the examinations for scholarships for entrance into secondary schools which are due to take place in the near future?

This is a matter for the local education authorities and governing bodies who are responsible for making the arrangements. They are, I know, alive to the importance of securing that children are not penalised from this cause.

Will the President of the Board of Education himself take what action he can—I realise his limitations—in order to prevent any child being handicapped in such circumstances?

I think the action of the hon. Member in asking this question and the publicity which has thus been given to the matter will bring it to the attention of local authorities.

Cannot the right hon. Gentleman make recommendations?

I do not think that will be necessary. I think the local authorities are fully alive to the position.

asked the President of the Board of Education what regulations are in force regarding the length of time local authorities should keep records of medical inspections of children during the time they were at school after they have left school; and whether these are preserved or destroyed?

The board have issued no regulations on the subject, but when asked for advice by local education authorities they have recommended that the records of medical inspection should be retained for about five years after the child leaves school, and they understand that this is the usual practice; for example, in London the records are kept until the child's eighteenth birthday, and in Birmingham for a period of five years.

Will provision be made for the use of these records by factory inspectors or other officers of the factory inspectorate?

asked the President of the Board of Education whether he is aware that, according to the terms of the current Burnham scales, additional initial payments are made to teachers who have taken a recognised post-graduate diploma course following a three years' course in a university or university college, but that this increment is not paid to such teachers as have taken a diploma course following a three years' degree course in a technical college; that students from these colleges have obtained appointments in elementary and secondary schools but have not received the additional initial payments referred to, and whether he will take steps to remove this anomaly in the drafting of any new scales that may be agreed upon?

In this matter there is a distinction between teachers in elementary schools and those in secondary and technical schools. The initial increment to which my hon. Friend refers is payable only to graduate teachers in secondary schools and technical institutions who have satisfactorily completed a year of training in teaching, in addition to three years study for a degree in a technical college. My attention has not been called to any case of teachers not receiving these salary increments. I understand that the matter, in so far as it relates to teachers in elementary schools, is about to be considered by the appropriate Burnham Committee.

asked the Minister of Health when he proposes to introduce legislation to provide for non-manual workers with wages up to £400 per year being included in the national insurance schemes?

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the question asked yesterday by my hon. Friend the Member for West Leeds (Mr. V. Adams).

asked the Minister of Health the total number of insured persons who received sickness or disablement benefit during 1936; the percentage due to rheumatism; the total sickness benefit paid in consequence of this complaint; and whether the figures indicate a decline or otherwise as compared with previous years?

I regret to say that the information asked for by the hon. Member is not available.

asked the Minister of Health the number of patients who have been in Papworth tuberculosis sanatorium and returned home, and have died within one year of returning home during the last seven years?

I have caused special inquiries to be made in this matter by one of the medical officers of the Ministry, but I regret to say that the information desired by the hon. Member is not available.

asked the Minister of Health whether, in view of the fact that in America and other countries insurance companies spend large sums on health education, he has examined the possibility of securing the co-operation of British insurance companies in the proposed national campaign for health education and physical training; and whether he proposes to invite the insurance companies to contribute towards the cost of the national campaign?

The general question of health education and propaganda is now tinder consideration, but I understand that some work of this nature is already undertaken by insurance companies and I should certainly welcome its extension.

Would the right hon. Gentleman bear in mind that the campaign will obviously benefit the insurance companies who deal with industrial policies?

On the other hand, the length of life, as the hon. Gentleman is aware, is not satisfactory, I believe, so far as the annuity side of the business is concerned.

asked the Minister of Health whether he is aware that preparations of sugar or glucose with a small percentage of the product of the honeybee are being sold under the designation of honey; and whether he will introduce legislation in order to give a legal definition of honey and to restrict the designation "honey" to the produce from plants and flowers as gathered, stored, and ripened by the honey-bee which shall not contain added sugar, glucose, or any other foreign substitute?

asked the Minister of Health whether, having regard to the fact that preparations of sugar, glucose, and other ingredients with a small percentage of honey are being sold under the description of honey, he will take steps to ensure that the word honey on labels, in advertisements, or in any other respect is confined to the natural product of the honey-bee extracted from plants and flowers, and that the label on any container should not suggest pictorially that the contents are the unadulterated product of the honey-bee when this is not so?

asked the Minister of Health whether he is aware of the indignation felt by bee-keepers that preparations consisting almost wholly of sugar may legally be sold as honey; and whether he will consider taking steps to limit that word to the genuine product of bees?

Representations have been made to me with regard to preparations of the kind referred to, and a deputation from the British Bee-Keepers' Association has recently discussed the matter with my Department. I hope that it may be possible to introduce legislation relating to the composition and description of articles of food on the lines recommended by the Departmental Committee which has reported upon that subject, and which would include provisions dealing with the matter raised by my hon. Friends.

asked the Minister of Health in view of the forthcoming revision of the block-grant formula, whether a special weighting based on the number of persons relieved by the public assistance committee will be applied to the calculation of the block grant; and whether he has taken into consideration the question of granting addiional money above the block grant to be devoted entirely to those local authorities with an excessive public assistance rate?