asked the Minister of Labour whether, as there are 1,500,000 persons on the unemployed registers and at the same time a shortage of skilled labour in some trades, he will request the trades unions to assist him to select and arrange for the special training of suitable persons among the unemployed so as to meet the demand for skilled labour and thereby add to the numbers of wage earners?

I will bear my hon. and gallant Friend's suggestion in mind.

Seeing that in a majority of trades, when employment is found for one skilled man, one or more unskilled men also find employment, does not my hon. Friend consider that a matter of paramount importance?

It is clearly a question of paramount importance.

asked the Minister of Labour under what conditions men previously employed as engineers are accepted under the Ministry's scheme for trainees, and specifically what age limit, if any, and/or period of absence from the trade is considered a barrier to acceptance?

The admission of skilled engineering workers to Government training centres is ordinarily limited to men under 45 years of age who have served an apprenticeship of not less than four years or have had comparable workshop experience and who have not been absent from the industry for more than four years, and require a short course of training to become acquainted with modern processes.

Can the hon. Gentleman give an assurance that engineers who merely require a course of reconditioning to accustom them to modern methods will not be debarred because after that course as skilled craftsmen they would require full trade union rates of pay?

I will see that the hon. Member's point receives consideration.

If the age is being limited to 45, will the hon. Gentleman impress on the Government the necessity of introducing old age pensions for these men?

In my original answer I said that the age limit was ordinarily 45.

asked the Minister of Labour in view of the fact that Wales is the only part of the Kingdom that shows a reduction in the number in employment in 1936 as compared with 1935, what special steps the Government propose to take to deal with the provision of new employment in Wales?

The various measures now in operation for this purpose and the additional measures to be undertaken were fully dealt with in the Debate on the Special Areas (Amendment) Act, 1937.

Have representations been made to the Department recently that, in spite of all the efforts made by the Minister, there are still 140,000 unemployed in this very narrow industrial belt, and will not the Government give con- sideration to making some special efforts more than the efforts which have already been made?

I realise the problem in South Wales, but I think we should give the new provisions in the latest Act every opportunity for effecting an improvement.

asked the Minister of Labour how many persons are now in training at the centre in Gipsy Lane, Leicester, and their average age; and the number of trainees that have passed from there to employment to the latest date?

There were 331 men in training at the Leicester Government training centre on 31st May, and their average age was between 23 and 24 years. Three hundred and fifty-four men have passed into employment from the centre since it was opened in July, 1936—representing 96 per cent. of those who completed the course.

While thanking my hon. Friend for that very satisfactory result, may I ask him whether he can give the total number that can be accommodated at that centre and, moreover, the sources and parts of the country from which the present occupants have been drawn?

My hon. and learned Friend should put that question down.

asked the Minister of Labour whether he is aware that many farms are likely to be short-handed this summer owing to shortage of casual labour for haymaking and hoeing; and whether he proposes to take any special steps to encourage unemployed persons in urban areas to take advantage of such employment in the country during the summer months?

There are difficulties in the way of employing townsmen, unused to work on the land, for short spells of seasonal agricultural work. The Employment Exchanges, however, take and will continue to take all practicable steps to bring to the notice of suitable persons, in urban and other areas, vacancies notified for agricultural employment in districts where sufficient workers are not available locally.

asked the Minister of Labour whether his attention has been called to the fact that boys at present employed in the North are being transferred to the South with the assistance of the Employment Exchanges; and will he have inquiries made into the matter?

The facilities of the juvenile transference scheme are available only to boys and girls registered at the Exchanges as unemployed, and I know of no cases of boys transferred to the South under the scheme who were already in employment in their home area. If the hon. Member will give me particulars of the case he has in mind, I will have inquiries made.

I will give the hon. Gentleman those particulars.

asked the Minister of Labour what are the reasons for the proposed closing of the Abbeydale, Sheffield, Employment Exchange; and how many claims are now dealt with at this exchange?

This office was opened in 1932 to meet an emergency when the premises of the main Sheffield Exchange were inadequate, and it is now being closed because the new main premises can deal with the Abbeydale claimants satisfactorily. The number of claims to benefit and applications for unemployment assistance at the latest available date at Abbeydale was 1,731.

Will my hon. Friend consider granting the same facilities now given to long-distance claimants to those living three miles or more from the exchange which they will now have to use?

I will certainly consider any representations made to me by my hon. Friend.

asked the Minister of Labour the conditions under which taximeter-cab drivers in training learning London are entitled to draw benefit at the Employment Exchanges?

The chief requirements are that the applicant shall be unemployed and available for work. Whether a particular applicant fulfils the conditions is a matter for determination by the independent statutory authorities. I may add that my right hon. Friend is making inquiries into the case referred to in the hon. Member's question of 3rd June and will write to him in the course of the next few days.

asked the Minister of Labour the number of unemployed men transferred from Newcastle-upon-Tyne recently to work on aerodromes in Gloucestershire; whether the men are still at work; and, if not, why these men returned home?

asked the Minister of Labour how many men from the Newcastle-upon-Tyne district have been transferred for aerodrome construction in Gloucestershire; and whether any complaints have been received as to their accommodation?

I am having inquiries made and will communicate with the hon. Members as soon as possible.

asked the Minister of Labour the number of those on the register on 24th May who had been out of work one year and over?

At 24th May, 1937, there were approximately 314,000 claimants for benefit and applicants for unemployment allowances on the registers of Employment Exchanges in Great Britain who had been continuously on the registers for 12 months or more; this total includes about 36,000 persons who would not have been so included under the arrangement existing prior to the Second Appointed Day for unemployment assistance on 1st April. Corresponding figures are not available for persons on the registers who were not applying for benefit or allowances. A proportion of these persons will have had one or more short spells of employment, lasting not more than three days each, during the period of continuous registration.

Is the Minister aware that a considerable number of those unemployed who were previously registering are now drawing Poor Law relief?

I am aware that there has been a steady decline in those unemployed for a period of more than a year if you exclude those who have been transferred after the Second Appointed Day.

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that there has been a steady increase in Poor Law relief in the country?

Is the Department satisfied that these 314,000 are people willing and able to work, in view of the charges that have been made against this class?

I am sure that the Government are always ready to try to find employment for everyone of these persons.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury the number of aplications made to the Special Areas Reconstruction Association for financial assistance to establish new industries in South Wales and Monmouthshire; the number granted; and similar information for England and Scotland?

I will, with the hon. Member's permission, circulate the figures for which he asks in the OFFICIAL REPORT.

asked the Minister of Labour whether there is any redundancy of "S"-grade clerks in England; and whether he contemplates transferring a large number of them to Scotland and Wales, thereby displacing temporary grade clerks in those areas?

There are redundant "S" class clerks in the Employment Exchange service in England, but there is at present no proposal to transfer any of them to Scotland or Wales.

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that in the Scottish Exchanges there is a very definite opinion that there is going to be a large transfer of "S"-grade clerks, and will he, on behalf of his right hon. Friend, give a definite denial to that?

I think I gave it in my answer. The number of "S"-grade clerks redundant is under 200.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether, with further reference to the pay of new entrants to the Inland Revenue Department, he can now give an undertaking that new entrant tax officers in the Inland Revenue Department will be conditioned to the scale of pay agreed between the Board of Inland Revenue and the Association of Officers of Taxes in 1934 until such time as a new scale is either agreed between the parties or awarded by the arbitration tribunal?

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the Board of Inland Revenue will not stay their hands in regard to imposing reduced scales of pay upon new entrant tax officers pending the decision of the Civil Service Arbitration Tribunal on the matter?

I would refer the hon. Members to the reply given on 7th June to the hon. Member for Stoke-on-Trent (Mr. E. Smith). The whole question is going before the Arbitration Tribunal, and in the circumstances I see no reason to intervene.

Why has there been some alteration made while this matter is under the consideration of the Arbitration Tribunal?

I think the material thing to remember is that if, as the result of negotiation or arbitration, scales of pay more favourable in the early years than those of the general clerical class are awarded, new entrants will get the benefit of any improvement as from the date of their entry into the Civil Service The adjustment will be made.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether, now that the dispute on the pay of new entrant tax officers is to be referred to the Arbitration Tribunal, he will have regard to the view of the court in a previous comparable case (Industrial Court Award No. 1,211) and bring new entrants into the Department on the salary scales previously agreed between the Board of Inland Revenue and the association in 1934, until such time as the tribunal has adjudicated on the dispute?

I would refer the hon. Member to my reply of 8th June to the hon. Member for the Farnworth Division of Lancaster (Mr. Rowson), to which I do not think I can usefully add anything.

asked the Minister of Health whether he is aware that, in a number of cases where subsidies were paid in respect of houses built under the Housing Act, 1923, the builders are alleged to have received the subsidy on condition that they sold the houses outright, including the land, for prices not exceeding £600 per house, and to have violated that condition by taking annual chief rents or ground rents in addition to the capital payment of £600; whether he has inquired or will inquire into these matters; and whether he will take steps to secure that such rents be remitted and all payments returned to the purchasers or that the subsidies be refunded?

I am aware of the circumstances referred to and have been in communication with the local authority concerned. I am advised that I have no power to secure the remission of the annual chief rents to the purchasers, but I am considering the question of the extent to which Exchequer contributions must be withdrawn in respect of the cases where there has been a breach of the conditions of the grant.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that most of the men who obtained these houses under the subsidy were ex-service men, and will he give special consideration to the matter in view of the circumstances in which they found themselves at that time?

Yes. This is a very regrettable case. As I daresay the hon. Member knows, the conditions which I suggested were not fulfilled, and I regret that I have no power to deal further with the matter.

Is it not a fact that before these agreements were arrived at,the sanction of the Ministry of Health had to be obtained?

Yes, and sanction was given under certain conditions which, I regret to say, were apparently not completed so far as these particular contracts were concerned.

asked the Minister of Health whether he is now in a position to revive the housing subsidy in order to enable local authorities to provide houses for people who cannot be accommodated under the slum-clearance and overcrowding schemes?

I am satisfied that the energies of local authorities and the available resources of the building industry will be fully occupied for some time to come in dealing with the more urgent problem of housing for slum clearance and the abatement of overcrowding, for which substantial Exchequer subsidies are already available.

Is not the right hon. Gentleman aware of the very long list of people who are still waiting for houses, and whom these two schemes will not accommodate for a long time to come; and will he not take this very important fact into consideration as early as possible?

I would ask the hon. Member to read what I said about this matter on the Estimates. I am asking the local authorities to concentrate as much as possible on slum clearance and overcrowding at the present time.

Is the Minister aware that in many areas in this country the local authorities are still dealing in rotation with applications that were made in 1931 and 1932 for council houses; and is he aware, further, that slum clearance will not solve the question of shortage of houses?

asked the Minister of Health whether under all the agreements made under the Housing Act, 1923, a ground rent has been allowed to be paid; or whether, whereas a perpetual ground rent is fixed in some areas, in others house purchasers can purchase the freehold for a sum equivalent to a 20 years' chief rent?

The answer to the first part of the question is in the negative. As regards the second part, I am advised that in the absence of any provision in the contract for sale dealing with this matter, the question of the terms on which the ground rent can be redeemed would be a matter for negotiation.

Is it not a fact that under the Act of 1923 agreements were arrived at which stated that the houses should be sold lock, stock and barrel, including the land, and if that is so, have there not been breaches of that Act in Stafford, Torquay and other districts?

I am not aware of those cases. As the hon. Member knows, the Ministry, in communication with local authorities, suggested these conditions. The only case I have in mind is the one referred to by the hon. Member in his earlier question, and there, unfortunately, the conditions suggested were apparently not properly imposed.

In view of the difficulties of the position, will the Minister give this matter his personal attention?

Certainly I will, and if the hon. Member will see me I will go into it fully with him.

Will the Minister do all he can to assist Socialists to become owners of their houses, with the land?

asked the Minister of Health how many rural district councils in England and Wales have made application to the Rural Housing Committee for Exchequer grants in respect of new housing accommodation required for the abatement of overcrowding among the agricultural population under the terms of Section 108 of the Housing Act, 1936; and the number and amounts of the grants approved by him under that Section up to the end of April, 1937?

As the answer contains a number of figures, I will, with the hon. Member's permission, circulate it in the OFFICIAL REPORT.

asked the Minister of Health the number of complaints received, during the three years ended to the last convenient date, that administrative bodies have failed to exercise their powers under the Housing (Rural Workers) Act, 1926; and the number of labourers' cottages that have been improved and reconditioned under this Act during the same period?

Complaints have from time to time been received that insufficient use has been made of these Acts, but I have no record of the exact number. Steps have recently been taken to secure wider publicity for the grants available which will, it is hoped, result in a marked increase in the number of cottages improved. The number of cottages in respect of which local authorities have undertaken to grant assistance increased during the three years ended 3ist March, 1937, from 7,807 to 14,207.

Will the Minister consider the desirability of impressing upon local authorities to exercise their powers under this Act?

Yes, Sir. If the hon. Member will be good enough to study the Debates on the Ministry of Health Estimates a day or two ago, he will see that the matter was fully dealt with then.

Has the Minister's attention been called to a report of the Scottish Advisory Committee on Housing, published last week, in which the administration of this Act is described as a gross waste of public money? Will he assure himself that similar misapplication of public funds is not being made in England?

I understand that the report dealt only with Scotland, and I know of no such condemnation so far as England is concerned.

I am asking the right hon. Gentleman to give me an assurance that a similar waste of public money is not being made in England?

Is the right hon. Gentleman not aware that this is a most valuable Act for the rural workers?

I would like to state at once that I am not aware of any such position, so far as this country is concerned. I am most anxious that local authorities should take all steps they can under this Act.

Will the right hon. Gentleman set up a committee to investigate the whole question?

No, Sir, I think we will leave Scotland to look after its own affairs.

asked the Minister of Health whether he is aware that certain small shopkeepers in Sheffield have suffered considerable loss of business as a result of slum-clearance schemes which have led to the houses of their customers being demolished; and what amounts have been paid by way of compensation to such small shopkeepers in Sheffield on this account during the past two years?

I understand that the Corporation had up to 3ist March last paid allowances in respect of trade disturbance in 245 out of the total of 282 claims submitted to them, the total amount of the allowances so paid being £8,270. I have no reason to suppose that the Corporation are not adequately exercising their discretionary powers to make allowances, but if my hon. Friend has any particular cases in mind and will send me particulars, I shall be glad to make further inquiries.

Can the right hon. Gentleman tell the House how much compensation the Sheffield City Council paid in connection with their rehousing work?

That is beyond this question a long way.

asked the Minister of Health whether, in view of the high percentage of overcrowding in the county of Durham and other distressed areas, he will take steps to secure an increase of the present limit of the Exchequer contribution, so as to enable distressed areas to carry out a long delayed and much needed programme of rehousing?

I have no reason to suppose that progress within the available resources of the building industry is being impeded in the Special Areas. The hon. Member is doubtless aware that as regards the County of Durham, the services of the North Eastern Housing Association are available to local authorities in the Special Area to assist them in carrying out their programmes on terms which do not involve a charge on local rates.

Will the right hon. Gentleman bear in mind that overcrowding is not confined to slum property, and that authorities in the poverty-stricken areas might be assisted if the full maximum of £5 were granted in each case? Does not the Minister agree?

Yes, Sir, but they have a very ready means of dealing with this matter with the aid of this association, which is already doing such good work.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that the county council would carry out the work, and that at the present time the county council has the highest percentage of overcrowding for counties?

Yes, Sir, I hope that the county council will proceed with this matter, but I would like to press upon the hon. Gentleman and anyone else who may be interested in this matter, the point that here is this association ready and willing to give valuable assistance.

It not the worst case of overcrowding the House of Commons?

asked the Minister of Health whether the Basque children who recently reached this country had been vaccinated and inoculated before their arrival, and, if so, against what diseases were they vaccinated or inoculated; and when were these operations performed?

So far as I am aware, no special measures of vaccination or inoculation were taken before the children's arrival in this country, but approximately 50 per cent. were found on examination to have been vaccinated against smallpox. I understand that a first inoculation against typhoid has now been given to nearly all the children in the camp at North Stoneham.

Can the right hon. Gentleman say whether the permission of the parents for these operations had been obtained?

asked the Minister of Health how many Spanish refugee children have been admitted into this country; and how many cases of typhoid or suspected typhoid have occurred amongst them?

According to the information with which I have been supplied, 3,881 children arrived at the camp at North Stoneham on 23rd and 24th May. Six cases of typhoid, including one not finally diagnosed, and one of paratyphoid, have occurred amongst them. Three children are at present under observation for this disease.

In view of the risk of the spread of this disease, would the right hon. Gentleman give an assurance that none of these children will be allowed to move to other parts of the country until they have undergone the full quarantine?

Is it not a fact that the arrangements in regard to quarantine have been most admirably carried out by the voluntary service of doctors?

The responsibility for the conduct of this matter rests with the voluntary committee. I think everyone will agree that my Department have given all the advice and assistance that can be given in this matter, and we shall continue to do so. So far as the question of removal of children is concerned, I am anxious myself, subject to satisfactory medical conditions, that these children shall leave the camp as soon as reasonably practicable and possible. Any assistance that my medical officers can give to medical officers in districts where they may have to go, in order to ensure safety, so far as health is concerned, will be given.

Will the medical officers of health be informed before the arrangements are made to transfer these children?

Oh, yes, Sir. It is obviously a very important responsibility on the local medical officers of health.

Does the right hon. Gentleman realise that some of these children have already been removed from the camp and that some of them are in my own constituency? Have the necessary steps been taken between the Ministry of Health and the local authorities to make sure that the children are fit to be removed?

The matter is one for the local authority in the area and the medical officer concerned. From my own knowledge and observation I believe that the medical officers in the districts are fully alive to the need for properly carrying out their duties.

Would the Minister arrange for a supply of tabloids to hon. Members opposite who are afraid of infection?

asked the Minister of Health whether he will inquire as to the probable cost to the State of the provision, free of cost, of surgical appliances to all poor persons whose need thereof is certified by a qualified medical practitioner?

No, Sir, I do not think I should be justified in making the inquiry suggested. I would point out that local authorities have powers to render assistance in appropriate cases.

Is the Minister aware that annual subscribers to the Surgical Aid Society are inundated with requests for surgical aid letters from poor people who have been ordered surgical appliances, and will he draw the attention of local authorities to the fact that they can exercise powers to assist in the provision of the surgical appliances that these poor people need?

I think that the local authorities are aware of their powers. If the hon. Gentleman will send me any cases which he has specially in mind, I will take the matter up with the authorities?

asked the Minister of Health what progress has been made in the work of the new committee set up to co-ordinate the regional water committees; and whether such committees will report regularly to the central committee?

The Central Advisory Water Committee are actively engaged on their work, which includes the consideration of the functions of regional water committees and their relationship with the central committee.

Will the regional water committees report regularly to this new committee?

I am making inquiries. As my hon. Friend knows, the central committee has only just been set up. I should say, "Yes."

asked the Minister of Health whether he can report the progress made with the regional water authorities; whether the work they carried out was reported in any way; and, if so, could such reports be published?

I am informed that surveys of needs and resources have been made or are nearing completion for all committees. Reports of the committees are made to their constituent authorities and it is for them to decide whether the reports should be published.

asked the Minister of Health whether the whole of the country has now been divided up into regional water authorities?

No, Sir. The question whether and, if so, for what areas further committees should be appointed is being considered by the Central Water Advisory Committee.