asked the Secretary of State for Air what progress has taken place with the proposed airport at Fairlop; and what transport facilities have been arranged in connection therewith?

I understand that the acquisition of practically the entire area required for the proposed airport at Fair-lop was completed on 5th April last. The City Corporation have been notified that the site is in all aeronautical respects satisfactory for development as an airport and I understand that a special Airport Committee has been appointed by the Corporation to prepare and submit a scheme for laying out and establishing the airport.As regards the last part of the question I am informed that when the London Passenger Transport Board have completed extensions to their line an electrified service to the City will be available from Fairlop station.

asked the Secretary of State for Air what steps are being taken to secure the maintenance of an air service between this country and Norway?

A daily service, excepting Wednesdays and Sundays, was commenced by Allied Airways on 12th July, 1937, and discontinued at the end of September of that year. I understand that this service has now re-commenced. The possibility of an extension to Oslo of the present London-Copenhagen-Stockholm service of British Airways is under active consideration.

asked the Secretary of State for Air why his Department failed to inform the Cadman Committee that Allied Airways were running a service to Norway with the approval of the Norwegian Government?

I cannot accept the implication contained in my hon. Friend's question. From the inquiries I have made I find that information in regard to the operations of Allied Airways was made available to the Cadman Committee.

asked the Secretary of State for Air whether, in view of the substantial increase that will take place in the volume of traffic on British Empire air routes following the increased subsidy which is to be given, arrangements can now be made to accelerate the completion of adequate Empire air route bases in this country?

Yes, Sir. Every effort is being made to provide adequate air bases in the country for Empire air routes, and in that connection account is being taken of the forthcomong increases in British air line traffic both on the Empire and other routes.

asked the Secretary of State for Air whether plans are now complete for establishing a Government aerodrome near Nottingham; and, if so, what is the site selected and when it is hoped to start work on it?

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Newark (Marquess of Titchfield) on 24th May last.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he will state the aggregate amount spent by Colonial Governments in 1937 on the education of natives, and the approximate amount per native child being educated that this amount represents?

I am assuming from a question asked by the hon. Member on 18th May that what he has in mind is education in the African Colonies, Protectorates and mandated territories. For these the aggregate recurrent estimated expenditure for 1937 appearing on the votes of the Education Departments was about £820,000 and the estimated number of pupils attending Government, aided and unaided schools about 1,500,000. The above figure of expenditure does not include the very large amount of expenditure on African education by other Government Departments, missions, native treasuries, local authorities, etc., in regard to which figures are not available.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he has procured, or will procure, a copy of the Bill now before the legislative council of Trinidad dealing with arbitration machinery as affecting native workers; and whether he will make such information available to the House at an early date?

I have received copies of the Ordinance in question, which has passed the Legislature and come into force, and I am arranging for a copy to be placed in the Library of the House.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Education (1) whether he will give the number of public elementary schools which are on sites of less than half an acre and a quarter of an acre, giving separate figures in each case;(2) what is the number of public elementary schools which have no special room for medical inspection;

I regret that statistics giving the information desired are not available.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Education what is the number of public elementary schools which have no playgrounds and no assembly halls?

I regret that the information for which the hon. Member asks is not available.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Education what is the number of senior schools which have no special rooms for handwork or domestic science?

I cannot give the answer to the precise question asked by the hon. Member, but on 31st March, 1937, there were 12 departments for senior children which made no provision for practical instruction.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Education what is the number of senior schools which do not have the use of playing fields; and what number have no gymnasium and no physical training room?

The Board have no statistics giving the information desired, but it is their practice to endeavour to secure playing-field facilities wherever possible, and gymnasia in all the larger senior schools. For the smaller schools the halls are commonly equipped with apparatus.

asked the Minister of Transport (1) whether he is aware of the indignation caused in the West Midland traffic area by the proposal of the Traffic Commissioners to enforce the proposal put forward by himself and the railway companies to reduce to three the age-limit for children at which free transport in public-service motor vehicles can be provided; and whether, in view of the special circumstances existing in the Birmingham area, he can issue revised instructions in this matter;(2) whether he is aware that, according to the report of the chief constable of Birmingham, some 52,000 children travelled on public-service vehicles free of charge on Easter Monday in that area; and whether, in view of the hardship which would result from making it necessary to pay fares for a large proportion of these children, he will withdraw his instruction that the freedom from fares for children under five years of age must now be reduced to three years?

In certain cases which have come before me on appeal under Section 81 of the Road Traffic Act, 1930, have supported the contention that the maximum age for free travel of children on public-service vehicles should be uniform and should be three years. I understand that the Traffic Commissioners for the West Midland Traffic Area have recently proposed to revise the conditions of certain licences, but I do not know what decision they will reach; clearly I can make no useful statement as to the possible course of an appeal against a decision which has not yet been taken.

asked the Minister of Transport whether he can state when the final report of the Transport Advisory Council on service and rates will be available?

I am not in a position to state definitely when a further report may be expected from the Transport Advisory Council, but I am informed by the chairman that it is hoped that it will be completed before the Summer Recess.

asked the Minister of Transport whether he is aware that, according to a special census taken by the Jarrow Corporation, at least four and in some cases more trips a day were lost in the period 24th to 30th April, owing to the difficulties on the Jarrow-Howden ferry; and, as this is very serious for the men who have to get across the river to their work, will he take steps to improve the present situation?

The Town Clerk of Jarrow has informed me of the results of the special census. The ferry is owned and operated by the Jarrow Corporation, who are responsible for its working. Nevertheless in view of the difficulties being experienced by the Corporation I have, as the hon. Member is aware, communicated with the County Councils of Durham and Northumberland, as the highway authorities responsible for the classified roads immediately served by the ferry.

asked the Minister of Labour whether he will state the number of persons, male and female, under 21 years of age, and the number above 21, male and female, employed in factories on the Team Valley Trading Estate?

I am endeavouring to get the information which the hon. Member desires from the Team Valley Trading Estate Company and will let him have it as soon as it is available.

asked the Minister of Labour whether he will state the amount that has been spent on the Team Valley Trading Estate for acquiring the site, for development, and for the building of factories up to date?

I am obtaining the information and will write to the hon. Member.

asked the Minister of Labour whether he is aware that young men from Scotland who had come to London for training as plasterers and building trades workers have been offered casual employment as ice-cream vendors in the Croydon area; and will he take steps to try to arrange employment for them in the occupation for which they had received training?

Men at Government training centres occasionally terminate their training before the end of the course in order to take an unskilled job in the locality of the training centre. It is impossible to prevent a man's doing this, though every effort is made to persuade him not to do so. The hon. Member may rest assured that at the conclusion of the training course all possible steps are taken to find each man a job in the occupation for which he has been trained, and this is done in well over 90 per cent. of the cases.

asked the Minister of Labour whether he can make a statement as to the progress made by the Lancashire Site Company?

since the answer which my right hon. Friend gave to the hon. Member on 28th April, he has given directions to apply Section 5 of the Special Areas (Amendment) Act, 1937, to three further areas in which the Lancashire Site Company is prepared to operate. Copies of the directions in all these cases have been placed in the Library. Following are particulars of these three areas:

asked the Secretary of State for War whether he will investigate the terms under which retired Army officers are voluntarily re-employed in the War Department, with the object of an early review of the present regulations governing these terms, whereby such officers are deprived of the whole of their retired pay, both rank and service elements, irrespective of the status of the appointment held; and whether he is aware that the country loses valuable experience by reason of these terms, which not only deter possible volunteers but cause dissatisfaction among such officers who do volunteer by creating inequities in their actual net remuneration?

The terms of re-employment of retired officers under the War Office are of two kinds. Officers in ordinary cases retain their retired pay and receive extra pay in addition. The only cases in which retired pay is suspended are when full pay and allowances appropriate to rank are given according to the appointment held. The number of applicants for both categories is considerable.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether there is now any shortage of skilled labour at the Nottingham gun factory; if so, what are the numbers involved; and what attempts are being made to secure sufficient men from other centres?

There is at present a shortage of some 200 skilled men at the Royal Ordnance Factory, Nottingham, and a further 200 will be required shortly. The existence of these vacancies is advertised at all Employment Exchanges throughout the country and personal contact with all the more important exchanges is maintained by the factory staff. Various trade unions also notify the factory management of members who are or are likely to become unemployed, and steps are taken to interview such men.In addition, the factory management keep in touch with the possibilities of discharges from other factories due to shortage of work, and take appropriate steps to recruit any suitable men available.

asked the Secretary for Mines whether he will state the number of mines in England and Wales with electricity installed underground for purposes of coal-cutting, haulage, etc.; the annual output of such mines; the number of persons engaged below ground; the number of explosions occurring in those mines, and the number of fatal and nonfatal accidents which have resulted from explosions during a period of the last available 10 years; and. similar statistics for coal mines where no electricity is installed below ground?

As this information is not fully available, and the collection and extraction of that which is available would involve a great amount of time and labour, I am communicating with the hon. Member in the matter.

asked the Secretary for Mines when was the sealed part of the Gresford mine last tested for gas, and what was the result?

Air samples from behind the stoppings at Gresford Colliery were last taken on 17th May. The analyses of these samples have just reached me and the results indicate that the air inside the stoppings is still such that it is unsafe to remove them.

asked the Minister of Health whether he is aware that residents in the village of Craghead, County Durham, are suffering much inconvenience, injury to health, and damage to furniture, etc., from an extensive burning pit-heap, the product of three collieries; and what steps his Department proposes to have this nuisance terminated?

My right hon. Friend has arranged for one of his Alkali Inspectors to visit this pit-heap this week.

asked the Secretary for Mines (1) what amount of motor spirit was produced from shale in the United Kingdom during 1937;(2) what amount of Diesel oil was produced from shale in the United Kingdom during 1937?

By courtesy of Scottish Shale Oils, Limited, I am able to inform the hon. Member, in reply to his questions, that, during 1937, the company produced about 7½ million gallons of motor spirit and 14½ million gallons of Diesel oil.

asked the Minister of Health whether he can give the number of families of alien nationality which have been granted tenancies in dwellings owned by the London County Council during the last three years?

I regret that the information is not available.

asked the Minister of Health whether he can give the average number of vacancies which occur annually in London County Council dwelling-houses?

The annual average for the last five years has been about 6,200.

asked the Minister of Health whether he is aware that the Monmouth Rural District Council, in proposing to acquire a housing site at Rockfield, has agreed to provide a cottage for a workman employed at Deepholm farm and to reserve such cottage permanently for employés of the farm; and whether he will take steps to ensure that the cottage will not be tied in this manner?

I am making inquiries and will communicate further with the hon. Member.

asked the Minister of Pensions what proportion of the widows whose pensions were terminated during the years 1935, 1936, and 1937, appeared before the Special Grants Committee or local war pensions committee, respectively; whether any précis or other written details of evidence are furnished to widows as is the case in other pension appeals; and in how many cases where widows appeared were their accusers present and available for cross-examination?

In reply to the first part of the hon. and gallant Member's question, all widows are informed that they have a right to appear before the local war pensions committee. In about two-thirds of the cases in the past three years widows exercised that right. The Special Grants Committee have the power to give the widow an opportunity of apeparing before them but no widow has so appeared. I have suggested to the committee that in future a widow should be definitely invited to appear where she disputes the main points alleged against her. That suggestion has been adopted.In reply to the second part of the question, cases brought to the notice of the Special Grants Committee are, in the first instance, referred by them to the local war pensions committee which sends one of its members or a voluntary worker to see the widow and to give to her, in full, the circumstances which she is called upon to explain. She is at the same time asked to submit a written statement and/or if she wishes, to appear in person before the War Pensions Committee who, after hearing the widow, make a report to the Special Grants Committee giving their own observations on the case.In reply to the third part of the question, Parliament deliberately constituted the Special Grants Committee as a body independent of the Minister of Pensions, who has no power, either to lay down rules of procedure or to reverse its decisions, and Parliament deliberately refrained from giving to the committee the powers and procedure of a legal court and it has no power to summon witnesses or to take evidence on oath.I may add that the position and procedure of the committee in cases of forfeiture was investigated by a Departmental Committee which included eight Members of this House, representing all political parties and was approved on the lines now in force.No criminal offence is involved and there is no analogy between the procedure of the committee and that of a criminal court; consequently there is no accuser, but the widow is informed that there is a case for investigation arising from certain ascertained facts and is asked to answer it.

asked the Minister of Pensions whether the special grants committee sits and considers allegations against widows as a full committee; if not, who does consider such cases, giving the names of the individuals concerned; under what statutory authority is the duty of the special grants committee so delegated; and are decisions given on written statements alone?

Allegations against widows are considered by a section of the members of the Special Grants Committee who are nominated by the full Committee for the purpose. Any members of the full Committee are entitled to, and do on occasion, attend the meetings of the Section.The Special Grants Committee derives its powers originally from the War Pensions Act of 1915. Decisions are given on the basis of all the evidence in the case, together with the observations and findings of the Local War Pensions Committee.The regular members of the Section which considers allegations against widows are:

asked the Minister of Pensions how many applications for restoration of widows' pensions have been received and granted, respectively, during the year 1937; whether such applications come before the special grants committee; and whether he will give particulars as to the grounds on which restoration was made during the year in question?

The records of the Special Grants Committee do not enable me to give the number of widows who applied during 1937 for restoration of a forfeited pension, but during that year eight pensions were restored. All such applications are considered by the Special Grants Committee through the section which deals particularly with this branch of its work.The cases of restoration were those in which the Committee found that misconduct of various kinds had been followed by a reasonable period of good behaviour and in which the original misconduct did not amount to habitual cohabitation. In cases of prolonged cohabitation, which are unfortunately much the most frequent, it is clearly not possible to treat the widow better than if she had re-married.

asked the Minister of Pensions how many pensions were awarded to widows of disability pensioners on account of the man's death being officially admitted as due to or aggravated by his War disablement, during the 12 months ended 31st March, 1938, or the latest period of 12 months available; and how many widows of disability pensioners were awarded a pension under the Old Age, Widows', and Orphans' Pensions Scheme during the same period of 12 months?

The number of pensions awarded to widows of disability pensioners during the 12 months ended 31st March, 1938, was 621. I am informed by my right hon. Friend the Minister of Health that the records of his Department do not show the number of widows of disability pensioners awarded pensions under the Contributory Pensions Acts.

asked the Minister of Pensions how many deaths occurred amongst ex-service men in receipt of disability pensions during the 12 months ended 31st March, 1938, or the latest period of 12 months available; and the mortality rate for disability pensioners during that period and the comparative rate for civil males of the same age groups?

The number of deaths of disability pensioners in the year ended 31st March last was 7,576, their mortality rate being 17.9 per thousand. For the general male population of corresponding ages in England and Wales the mortality rate for the same period was approximately 13 per thousand.

asked the Attorney-General whether he will state the nature of the further action under consideration for the protection of clients' property against fraudulent conversion as disclosed in the criminal courts since 1935, notwithstanding the Solicitors Accounts Rules?

As I informed my hon. Friend on the 4th May, I cannot make any statement pending the conclusion of the consideration which the Law Society is giving to this matter.

asked the Home Secretary whether a special organisation has now been set up to deal with the question of Austrian refugees; and what Departments of State are represented on it?

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on the 23rd instant to a question by the hon. Lady the Member for the English Universities (Miss Rathbone). As explained in the reply to the hon. and gallant Member for Wandsworth, Central (Colonel Nathan) on 3rd May, the introduction of a visa requirement for Germans and Austrians will enable the cases of intending immigrants from those countries to be carefully examined. In dealing with cases of refugees it is already the practice of the Home Office to maintain close contact with the refugee organisations concerned and where necessary to consult any other Government Department which may be interested.

asked the Home Secretary whether he can make a statement as to the progress made in the matter of air-raid precautions, showing how many full-time servants are employed by his Department and by local authorities, and their rate of remuneration; how many are in receipt of salaries from the Government and local authorities in addition to salaries for air-raid precautions duties; how many are in receipt of pensions from the Government or local authorities; how many are of military age; and whether he considers it advisable to accept such persons for air-raid precautions duties, having in mind that such men might be required for full military duties in the event of war?

Detailed information regarding whole time appointments by local authorities is not available at present. It is known that such appointments have been made in many cases, either by the transfer of existing officials from their present duties to air-raid precautions duties, or by the engagement of other officers. My right hon. Friend does not think he would be justified in asking local authorities to devote the time necessary for making a full return of these particulars at the present moment. As regards persons employed by the Home Office, I would refer the hon. Member to the particulars given in the printed volume of Civil Estimates, Class III, Votes 1 and 2.With regard to the last part of the question, the fact that these officers are engaged on air-raid precautions work during peace time does not mean that they would not be available for active defence if in time of war it should be decided that their services would be more advantageously utilised in this way.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether the winning designs in the competition recently promoted in Scotland for designs of working-class houses suitable for rural areas can be made available for inspection by Members of this House?

Yes, Sir, I have arranged that the designs will be exhibited in the tea room of the House to-morrow.

asked the Minister of Agriculture how many cases of anthrax were reported in the last report of the medical officer of health for the county of Angus under the Contagious Diseases (Animals) Act, 1894, and the Anthrax Order of 1928; and in how many cases were the sources of infection traced?

I have been asked to reply. During 1937, 22 outbreaks of anthrax in Angus, in which 29 animals were affected, were reported by the county authority, and the number reported in the first quarter of 1938, was 12 outbreaks affecting 13 animals. Eight of the 1937 outbreaks, and three in the March quarter of 1938, were probably due to the farms having been infected on previous occasions. The source of infection in the other cases was not definitely traced, but it may possibly have been associated with the use on these farms of artificial feeding stuffs which in 14 cases were known to have been imported from abroad.

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether he is aware that allotment land within the area of the London County Council is being rapidly used for other purposes and that, in most cases, alternative accommodation is not offered to those allotment holders who are displaced; and what steps he is prepared to take, in view of the needs both of national defence and social welfare, to ensure that all vacant land in this area belonging to railway companies and others is brought under allotment cultivation with reasonable security of tenure?

Surrenders of lands, used for allotments within the area of the London County Council, are unavoidable from time to time when land is required for purposes such as housing. The difficulties in the way of obtaining other accommodation and security of tenure are very great in view of the high value of land in the area generally and the scarcity of suitable alternative sites. I appreciate the value of allotments from the point of view of national defence and social welfare, and the importance which the Government attaches to this subject is well known to the local authorities, on whom falls the primary responsibility for taking action to meet the allotment needs of their areas. The authorities have wide statutory powers for this purpose, but existing legislation does not give power to secure that all vacant land in the London area shall be cultivated as allotments, and I am not satisfied that such a wide power would be justified in present circumstances.

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether he will state the average wholesale price of home-produced eggs at the latest convenient date in May, 1937, and the average prices of wheat, bran, maize, and middlings at the like time?

The following statement shows the average wholesale prices of certain grades of eggs and of feeding-stuffs during the week ended 25th May, 1938, and the corresponding week in 1937.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what steps must be taken by His Majesty's Government in order that the United Kingdom may withdraw from the convention of St. Germain-en-Laye; and whether any such steps are being taken by His Majesty's Government?

As the House was informed in December, 1935, His Majesty's Government have been advised that the Convention of St. Germain-en-Laye relating to the Congo Basin, cannot be terminated or modified except with the consent of all the parties concerned. His Majesty's Government then came to the conclusion that in the circumstances there were no effective steps which they could take in the matter, and they see no reason to modify the conclusion reached at that time.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether his attention has been drawn to the fact that there was an increase in the first four months of 1938, as compared with the first four months of 1937, of 30 per cent. in the supplies of separated or skimmed milk imported from abroad; and whether he will consult with the Minister of Agriculture in order that all requirements of this commodity may be met from home sources?

The quantity of condensed skimmed milk that may be imported into the United Kingdom is limited by voluntary arrangement with the principal foreign supplying countries. During the first three months of this year allocations were considerably higher than during the corresponding period of 1937, though a reduction has been arranged for the three months April, May and June. These allocations were agreed after consideration of the supply position and discussions with representatives of home producers. There is continual consultation between my right hon. Friend the Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries and myself on this and similar matters.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether the appointment of commercial agents in Spanish territory controlled by General Franco has been successful in maintaining British commercial trade with that part of Spain; and whether he can give the latest figures on the subject?

The appointment of these agents has, I am satisfied, proved of great value as a means of assisting British trade and commercial interests in the territories controlled by General Franco. No separate figures are available of trade with those territories, but this country's exports to Spanish territories in general have in the last three quarters shown a marked and progressive improvement as compared with the corresponding quarters a year earlier, and there is good reason to believe that this improvement is attributable in a large measure to increased exports to the territories controlled by General Franco.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what are the principal raw materials required for the manu-

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether the constitution of the National Maritime Board excludes any provision for arbitration on an industrial issue; and whether it is limited to the interpretation of agreements already concluded?

The interpretation of the constitution of the National Maritime Board is a matter for that board, but the constitution appears to provide for disputes of a panel of the board to be referred to an independent person if both sides of the panel agree. According to the constitution, the finding of that person would not be binding on either side.

pursuant to his reply (OFFICIAL REPORT, 30th May, 1938; col. 1667, Vol. 336) supplied the following statement:

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he is aware of the unsatisfactory conditions of employment applying to officers and men engaged in the British coastwise shipping trade; and whether, in view of the abortive attempts to secure improvements by representations to the National Maritime Board and the short sea trades committee of that board, he will initiate an inquiry into long-standing grievances?

Conditions of employment in the shipping industry including the coasting trade are a matter for discussion on the National Maritime Board, whose record shows that it is fully competent to deal with such matters. I know of no reason for initiating a special inquiry.