asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what local authorities in Scotland having mental institutions under their jurisdiction have, since 21st July, 1937, brought into operation a 48-hour week for the nurses and attendants, and the names of the institutions affected; what additional local authorities have, since the said date, decided to introduce such a 48-hour week and the institutions affected; what additional local authorities have, since the said date, had such a 48-hour week under consideration and the institutions affected; and what local authorities have not so far considered the adoption of such a 48-hour week and the institutions affected?

The following statement gives the information desired:

Local Authorities which, since 21st July, 1037, have brought into operation a 48-hour week for the nurses and attendants, and the mental institutions affected:

Glasgow Town Council: Stoneyetts District Asylum, Caldwell House Certified Institution.

Additional Local Authorities which have, since 21st July, 1937, decided to introduce such a 48-hour week and the mental institutions affected:

Dundee Town Council: Dundee District Asylum.

Lanark County Council, Motherwell and Wishaw Town Council, Airdrie Town Council, Coatbridge Town Council, Hamilton Town Council, Rutherglen Town Council: Kirklands Asylum.

Additional Local Authorities which have, since 21st July, 1937, had such a 48-hour week under consideration and the mental institutions affected:

Edinburgh Town Council: Edinburgh District Asylum.

Local Authorities which have not, so far, considered the adoption of such a 48-hour week and the mental institutions affected:

Argyll County Council, Bute County Council: Argyll District Asylum.

Ayr County Council, Ayr Town Council, Kilmarnock Town Council: Ayr District Asylum.

Banff County Council: Banff District Asylum.

Inverness County Council, Ross and Cromarty County Council, Sutherland County Council, Moray and Nairn County Council, Inverness Town Council: Inverness District Asylum.

Lanark County Council, Motherwell and Wishaw Town Council, Airdrie Town Council, Coatbridge Town Council, Hamilton Town Council, Rutherglen Town Council: Birkwood Certified Institution,

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland in what Scottish Departments the principle of equality as between men and women operates at present and to what extent; and what extensions of the principle are contemplated in the near future in these Departments?

In accordance with Civil Service practice posts in Scottish Departments are in general open to both men and women. There are some exceptions to this rule where the circumstances so warrant, e.g. the messenger grades are reserved to men and the clerical assistant and typing grades to women. In classes where both men and women are employed the pay for women is in general under that for men. No alteration of the general practice is contemplated but the extent to which posts are reserved to either sex is kept under review.

asked the Home Secretary the total number of vehicles purchased by the receiver for the Metropolitan police district, together with those already in service for the years 1933 to 1937?

The following figures show the number of vehicles in use on the dates specified:

asked the Home Secretary whether, in view of the conclusions of the Royal Commission on the private manufacture of and trading in armaments, that public officials, whether serving or retired, should not accept appointments with armament firms except with the approval of the Minister in charge of the Department in which they are serving or have served, he has accorded permission to Sir John Anderson, lately Permanent Under-Secretary of State at the Home Office, to become a director of Messrs. Vickers's armament firm; and, if so, when?

I would refer the hon. Member to Command Paper 5517, which sets out the Government's decision on the subject of the acceptance of business appointments by retired officers of the four Crown Services. Sir John Anderson ceased to serve in the Home Civil Service in March, 1932, when he was appointed Governor of Bengal. Under paragraph 7 of the Command Paper, it was not therefore necessary for him to obtain the assent of the Government to his acceptance of the appointment in question.

asked the Home Secretary. whether he is aware that a high proportion of the persons volunteering and being trained under the air-raid precautions scheme are people whose expert services would be required in other directions immediately upon the outbreak of war; and what provisions his Department is making to deal with the situation which will then arise?

Local authorities have been given advice which will help them in choosing for these duties volunteers whose services are likely to be available. The importance of the point raised by the hon. Member will not be overlooked, and if further guidance to local authorities is regarded as desirable it will be issued.

asked the Home Secretary whether he can state the extent of the anti-air-road precaution already adopted by the western and northwestern boroughs in the Greater London area but outside the purely Metropolitan area?

I am informed that a scheme has been prepared for Hornsey and that progress has been made in the preparation of schemes for Ealing, Harrow, Southgate and Wood Green. The appropriate authorities in other parts of the county of Middlesex are known to be giving active consideration to their duties under the recent Act, but I am not in a position to give details.

asked the Home Secretary whether he is aware of the exorbitant fees charged by some registry offices, both to employers and employed, and that the London County Council tried in its General Powers Bill of 1930 to secure power to the licensing authorities for London to prescribe and regulate by bylaws the fees charged to persons seeking employment through licensed employment agencies, but that this Clause was struck out of the Bill; and whether, as this power is still gravely needed, not only by the London County Council but all over the country, he can see his way to deal with the matter now by legislation?

I would refer my right hon. and gallant Friend to the reply given to the hon. Member for Central Southwark (Mr. Day) on 3rd February.

asked the Home Secretary whether he is aware that coloured people frequently experience difficulty in secureing hotel accommodation; and whether he will promote legislation to make it a penal offence to refuse such accommodation?

My right hon. Friend's attention has not recently been drawn to any complaints of this character. The keeper of an "inn" is already under certain obligations at common law to furnish accommodation to travellers: and I do not think that the matter would be appropriate to any such legislative provision as the hon. Member suggests.

asked the Home Secretary whether he will give the number of registered aliens residing in the various seaport towns of Great Britain?

I could not give the figures for which the hon. Member asks without making local inquiries, since the unit for registration purposes is the police district and in many cases a seaport forms only part of a larger registration area. Moreover, the number of registered aliens residing in shipping centres would not necessarily indicate that they were in any way interested in shipping activities, since the larger seaports such as London, Liverpool and Glasgow also include important industrial and commercial activities which have no direct connection with shipping.

asked the President of the Board of Trade (1) whether he can state the quantity and value of matches imported into this country for the past three years and from what foreign countries;(2) the quantity and value of matches imported into this country for the past three years, and from what foreign countries?

The desired information in respect of the years 1935 and 1936 will be found on page 331 of Volume II of the Annual Statement of the Trade of the United Kingdom for 1936. Particulars for the year 1937 are not yet available, but I will send them to my hon. Friend early next month.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he will state the number of square yards of carpet of the type covered in Cmd. 5656, imported into this country in the year 1937; what were the principal countries from which the imports were received; and the quantities and values in each case?

During the year 1937 the total imports into the United Kingdom of carpets, carpeting and rugs of wool, cotton, jute and hair, other than hand-made knotted carpets, amounted to 5,279,000 square yards.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he will give particulars of the exports of mineral oil to Japan from British possessions during the last six months?

I regret that, for the reasons explained in the reply which was given to the hon. Member for Kingswinford (Mr. A. Henderson) on 14th December last, the information asked for is not available.

asked the Minister of Health whether, in view of the State grant enabling the reduced contribution of 1s. 3d. for men and 6d. for women to be paid under the Contributory Pensions (Voluntary Contributors) Act, 1937, an employer is permitted to pay such contributions himself for the employé, the employer to appropriate such State pension as part of a voluntary pension at 65 years of age, bearing in mind the provisions of Section 36 of the 1936 Act?

There is nothing to debar an employer from paying on behalf of an employé the contributions which the latter has undertaken to pay under the Contributory Pensions (Voluntary Contributors) Act, 1937, but the fact that the employer has paid the contributions would not entitle him to receive any pension which may become payable under the Act in respect of the insurance of the employe.

asked the Minister of Health how many dwellings in England and Wales have been specifically built by local authorities to provide accommodation for families overcrowded under the Housing Act, 1935; how much has been paid in subsidies to local authorities up to the latest possible date towards the cost of rehousing persons overcrowded; and whether he can state the number of overcrowded persons actually rehoused?

The number of dwellings completed and allocated to the relief of overcrowding up to the 31st December, 1937, was 6,414, and a further 10,775 have already been approved. The dwellings already built will provide accommodation for 35,775 persons, but I have no information regarding the number of persons actually rehoused. Exchequer contributions paid towards the relief of overcrowding up to the 10th February amounted to £11,388.

asked the Minister of Health how many houses in England and Wales have been actually demolished up to the latest available date under the slum-clearance schemes; and how many dwellings have been completed to rehouse persons displaced thereby?

At 30th September, 1937, the latest date for which figures are available as regards demolitions, 151,844 houses had actually been demolished in connection with slum clearance operations. 178,355 dwellings had been provided by 31st December, 1937, for the purpose of rehousing persons displaced by such operations.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he has considered the fact that the clearing house returns for each of the last four months of 1937 was lower than for the corresponding month of 1936; and whether he has any statement to make regarding any steps the Government propose to take to meet this situation?

The fact asserted in the first part of the question is correct as regards town clearings but not as regards country and Metropolitan clearings. As was stated in the report from the bankers' clearing house in which the figures are published, it would be unwise to use the town clearing figures, which are influenced by purely financial operations, as a guide to the general trade conditions of the country, which are reflected in the country cheque clearing. The second part of the question does not therefore arise.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether his attention has been drawn to the recommendation to the United States Congress by the American Federation of Labour that help be given to business by the repeal or modification of the taxes on undistributed profits; and whether he will consider the desirability of applying the same principle in his forthcoming Budget?

My hon. Friend will not expect me to anticipate my right hon. Friend's Budget statement. I may, however, remind him that the question of relief from Income Tax on the undistributed profits of companies is not a new one, but has been frequently the subject of discussion in Finance Bill Debates.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he is prepared, in formulating his financial proposals for the coming financial year, to accord to income-earning women the same Income Tax abatement in respect of a dependent relative or a housekeeper as is at present accorded to a widower?

As the hon. Member will appreciate, I cannot anticipate my Budget statement. As regards the allowance for dependent relatives, if the hon. Member will refer to the provisions of Section 22 of the Finance Act, 1920, he will see that no distinction is made between one taxpayer and another in the grant of this allowance.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury in what Departments of the public service the principle of equality as between men and women operates at present, and to what extent; and what extensions of the principle are contemplated in the near future in these Departments?

The principle of "a fair field and no favour" for men and women in the civil service, subject to reservations where demanded in the public interest, was recommended by the Royal Commission on the Civil Service (1929–31) and has been adopted generally. It is applied by Departments in consultation with their staffs on the basis of the recommendations of the Committee on Women's Questions (1934), of whose report I am sending the hon. Member a copy. The number and kind of reservations to men and women respectively must of necessity vary from Department to Department, and I am unable to give a detailed account of the position within the limits of a Parliamentary Answer. The scales of pay for men and women, generally speaking, differ; certain standard differentiations have been agreed with the staff interests concerned and are set out in a Treasury Circular of 1937, of which a copy is being forwarded to the hon. Member.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will give the net revenue derived from duties on spirits, beer, wine, sweets, hops, and hop extracts for the calendar years 1936 and 1937, respectively?

The approximate net revenue from the specified articles in each of the calendar years ended 31st December, 1936, and 31st December, 1937, was as follows:

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether he can state, approximately, the acreage of allotments under cultivation for the production of foodstuffs in 1937, and how this compares with the acreage of the preceding year?

The latest information available for the whole of England and Wales is that returned as at 31st December, 1934, when the approximate total area of allotments was 146,000 acres. This figure included an area of 60,600 acres in the districts of urban authorities. For these authorities the corresponding figures at 31st December 1935 and 1936 were 59,700 and 59,250 acres respectively. Corresponding returns for 1937 are being collected from urban authorities but the figures are not yet available.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Education whether he will give the number of children in the schools in the Holland division of Lincolnshire; and how many of these children are taking milk under the milk-in-schools scheme?

On 1st October, 1937 the number of children on the registers of public elementary schools in the Holland division of Lincolnshire was 10,443, and of these 2,509, or 24 per cent., were on that date taking milk under the milk-in-schools scheme.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Education in how many of the 46,217 classes in elementary schools that contain more than 40 pupils, according to List 44 (1936), structural conditions make a reduction of the number impossible?

I regret that the information is not available and could be obtained only by a disproportionate expenditure of time and labour.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Education how many classes in elementary infant schools in England and Wales are taught by uncertificated teachers?

On 31st March, 1937, the total number of teachers in departments confined to infant children was 30,196. Of these. 6,215 were uncertificated or supplementary teachers. In addition there were 19,811 uncertificated and 4,402 supplementary teachers employed in departments which contained children above infant school age as well as infants. All but a few of the supplementary teachers were teaching classes of infants, but I am unable to say how many of the 19,811 uncertificated teachers were doing so.

asked the Secretary for the Colonies whether Altman, sentenced to death in Palestine, will be reprieved, in view of the provocation of the Jews by the large number of unpunished murders of Jews by Arabs?

The General Officer Commanding has commuted the sentence in this case to one of imprisonment for life. I do not accept the suggestion conveyed in the question that there should be discrimination on racial grounds in the application of measures adopted for the punishment of acts of terrorism.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether he will state the number of artificers who are qualified educationally and professionally for sublieutenant (E); the number promoted last year; and the number likely to be promoted this year?

Eight engine-room artificers were promoted to acting sub-lieutenant (E) in 1937. At present there are 15 artificers who have passed the necessary examination and are within the age limits. The promotion of these candidates will depend upon whether they are recommended and considered suitable for commissioned rank.

asked the Postmaster-General whether there has recently been any reorganisation in the Post Office in Londonderry city which has involved a later delivery of the post in certain districts; and, if so, why has this change been made?

Yes, Sir. A comprehensive overhaul of postal services is desirable from time to time and one has recently been completed in Londonderry. It has been found possible to provide an additional delivery at certain places on the outskirts of the town and to introduce an additional collection from many of the letter boxes. There has been some slight retardation of delivery in the centre of the city about midday but this is unfortunately unavoidable.

asked the Minister of Pensions whether in future the full medical history of an ex-service man whilst in any of the services can be supplied to his medical adviser if such a man makes a written request to this effect?

The service records are confidential. I could not, therefore, adopt this suggestion which would, in any event, involve a greater amount of labour than I should be justified in undertaking. It is, however, the practice of the Ministry to welcome any reasoned statement in support of the claim from the man's own medical adviser and I am always ready to give him an opportunity to discuss the case with a medical officer of the Ministry in his area.

asked the Minister of Pensions whether he is aware that Edward Sewell, 7–25, Oxford Road, Stratford, E., 11/M/2,707,015, is unable to work as a result of disability following War service, and that his Department has up to the present not recognised the disability; and whether he will cause special inquiries and examination to be made in this case?

When Mr. Sewell made application in 1933 his case was fully considered but my medical advisers were unable, on the evidence before them, to certify that the condition from which he was suffering was connected with his War service. Nothing has since come to light to cause that decision to be varied, but if Mr. Sewell can produce any fresh material evidence in support of his case, I am quite prepared to have it fully reviewed.

asked the Minister of Labour whether he will state the number and names of towns which have applied to be declared an area suitable for the assistance of the sites committee under the provisions of Sections 5 and 6 of the Special Areas (Amendment) Act, 1937?

The following local authorities have signified their intention of making representations under Section 5 (2) of the Special Areas (Amendment) Act, 1937:

asked the Minister of Labour whether he will state the number of cases referred to the Umpire during the last 12 months and the number outstanding at the end of the year?

5,766 cases were referred to the Umpire during 1937. Of these 672 cases were outstanding at the end of the year.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether, in view of the change of Government in Rumania, he will now again call the attention of the new Government to the persecution of the Jewish minority in that country?

As I have already informed the right hon. Gentleman, His Majesty's Minister on my instructions reminded the late Rumanian Foreign Minister of the interest which His Majesty's Government have always taken in the Minorities Treaty, of which they are an original signatory. His Majesty's Government will continue to maintain that interest and I am satisfied that their attitude is sufficiently clear to the new Rumanian Government.