asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will make it a condition, in making a grant or loan to Egypt, that Egypt reciprocates by lowering her heavy duties on imported cotton goods from this country?

So far as I am aware, there is at present no question of any grant or loan being made to Egypt.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he is aware of the fact that the exports of tinplates, steel sheets and ancillary products from this country have declined from 486,990 tons in the first six months of 1937 to 273,723 tons in the same period this year; what are the main causes for this reduction; and what steps he proposes to take to assist in the recovery of this important export trade?

The answer to the first part of the question is in the affirmative. In regard to the latter part of the question, I have nothing to add to the answer which was given to the hon. Member on 15th March.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he is aware that of 77 British films viewed by the Ontario Board of Films Censors, 38, or nearly 50 per cent., had to be cut, while of 2,377 films from the United States of America viewed by the board, 439, or 18.3 per cent., needed censoring; and whether, with a view to increasing the demand for British-made films, he will take steps to ensure a higher standard than exists at present?

The attention of the film producers in this country has already been called to the recent report of the Ontario Board of Film Censors to which reference is made.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he can state the total amount paid to the producers of power and industrial alcohol in respect of the allowance of 8¾d. per proof gallon during the last financial year, and the estimated amount so payable in the financial year 1938–39?

The total amount paid during the financial year 1937–38 on account of the allowance of 5d. per proof gallon payable in respect of power methylated spirits, industrial methylated spirits and spirits used duty-free in arts and manufactures under Section 8 of the Finance Act, 1902, was £933,000. As regards 1938–39, the amount may exceed £1,000,000. I would point out that the statutory rate of the allowance is 5d. per proof gallon and that it is payable to the methylator in the case of power methylated spirits and industrial methylated spirits, and to the authorised user of the spirits in the case of spirits received under the Finance Act of 1902.

asked the Home Secretary whether he can now give any information in connection with the escape of ammonia fumes at the Eldorado ice cream factory, Stamford Street, S.E., on 12th July, and how many persons were taken to the hospitals with severe burns; and whether the firm are paying compensation to the injured people?

The coroner's jury found that the pressure in the machine from which the ammonia escaped was excessive due to an error in manipulation; and I understand the connections on the machine are being altered in the light of what occurred. About 60 persons were taken to hospital at the time, of whom 15 were detained. I have no information as to the payment of compensation but I understand that the firm have paid those employés who were incapacitated by the accident a full week's wages for each of the last two weeks.

asked the Home Secretary whether he is aware that German Nazi authorities in this country have issued instructions to German refugees in this country to furnish the Nazi authorities with returns not only of their property and possessions in Germany but also of their possessions and bank balances in this country; and what action the British Government will take regarding this matter?

I have no information that any such instructions have been issued by the German Embassy or Consulates in this country. If the hon. Member has any information and will send it to me, I will consider the matter.

asked the Home Secretary whether he will state the types of professions represented by the applications which during the last 12 months he has received from German and Austrian refugees for permission to settle in this country, and the number of applications in respect of each such profession?

Applications from holders of German and Austrian passports who wish to leave their own country on political, religious or racial grounds cover a great variety of professions and occupations which does not lend itself to ready classification. I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply which I gave on the 7th March to the hon. Member for the Moss Side Division of Manchester (Mr. W. R. Duckworth). The figures given in that reply comprise for the most part persons in the categories mentioned.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether, in view of the large number of able and qualified doctors who are at present refugees from Greater Germany, he will consider the possibility of appointing some of them to subsidiary positions in the Colonial Medical Service?

It is not quite clear what posts my hon. Friend has in mind when he refers to "subsidiary positions in the Colonial Medical Service." Admission to the Unified Colonial Medical Service is necessarily confined, broadly speaking, to persons of British nationality, though a person who is born or is ordinarily resident in a Colony, Protectorate or Mandated Territory, is not excluded.

asked the Home Secretary whether he will state the number of utility vans in the service of the Metropolitan Police; and the reason why these vans are sent out with the driver only in sole charge?

The number of vans in use is 66. They are driven by constables who may or may not be accompanied by other officers according to the nature of the duty being carried out. When the van is called to an emergency the driver usually takes another constable with him or picks one up on the way, but in other cases the Station Officer uses his discretion as to whether the driver should be accompanied by another constable.

asked the Home Secretary whether he can state the number of foreigners admitted to practise as physicians and surgeons in this country for the years 1934, 1935, 1936, and 1937, respectively; the qualifications required of such foreign doctors before permission to practise is granted; and the numbers of foreign physicians and surgeons, respectively, so qualified resident here in the year 1937?

As regards the first part of the question I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply given on the 7th March to the hon. Member for the Moss Side division of Manchester (Mr. W. R. Duckworth). Permission to practise has been given only when the person has been admitted to the British Medical Register. As regards the last part of the question, figures could not be furnished without a detailed examination of the records of aliens registered with the police.

asked the Home Secretary whether he will cause inquiries to be made as to the reason why the police authorities caused an open air meeting, conducted by the Communist party in the evening of 1st July at the corner of Mansfield Street and Great Cambridge Street, Shoreditch, to be brought to an end?

The Commissioner of Police has already supplied me with a report on this meeting. It appears that when the meeting had been in progress for nearly two hours a large number of persons, estimated at about 1,500, who had been attending a Fascist meeting in the neighbourhood, crowded round the speaker and attempted to shout him down. The police had good reason to believe that breaches of the peace would occur if the meeting continued, and in order to prevent serious disorder they asked the speaker to close the meeting. The speaker complied with this request and the crowd then dispersed in an orderly manner.

asked the Secretary for Mines whether he will state the number of man-shifts worked in the coal industry in Lancashire and Cheshire during the first quarter of 1938, specifying the number of week-end and overtime shifts?

The estimated number of man-shifts worked in the coal industry in Lancashire and Cheshire during the first quarter of 1938 was 3,939,000, including week-end and overtime shifts, separate particulars of which are not in the possession of my Department.

asked the Secretary for Mines whether he can state the number of boys injured in the mines of Northumberland from 1930 up to the latest date for which the figures are available; and further, to give them in the following age groups: 14 to 16 years, 16 to 18 years, and 18 to 21 years?

The following is the available information:

asked the Prime Minister whether His Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom will be represented at the Minorities Congress at Stockholm from 30th August to 1st September?

No, Sir. This is a Congress of representatives of European Minorities and not of Governments.

asked the Prime Minister whether he has now received the report from His Majesty's Embassy at Shanghai on the question of discrimination in favour of Japanese commercial shipping in the matter of the payment of harbour dues at that port?

Yes, Sir. My Noble Friend is informed that Japanese commercial vessels are now following the recognised customs procedure and paying regular tonnage dues.

asked the Prime Minister whether he is aware of the execution by the Government in Barcelona of prisoners included in lists for exchange, in spite of assurances to the contrary given to the British Embassy by Senor Alvarez del Vayo; and whether the British chargéd'affaires in Barcelona has been instructed to lodge a protest?

My hon. Friend doubtless refers to a group of prisoners who were charged with espionage and shot on 24th June. I am not aware that the Spanish Government, who are unwilling in principle to exchange prisoners charged with espionage, ever agreed to the exchange of these prisoners or that assurances were given to His Majesty's Embassy that their lives would be spared. Nevertheless, His Majesty's Minister took all the steps open to him on the prisoners' behalf and, after the sentences had been carried out, he warned the Spanish Government of the probable repercussions of their action.

asked the Prime Minister whether he has considered the desirability of giving notice that we will terminate the Anglo-Japanese Treaty of 1911 in so far as it affects the import of Japanese goods into our Crown Colonies unless the Japanese Government are prepared to show greater consideration for British trade interests in the Far East?

Yes, Sir. This matter has received some consideration, but my Noble Friend is not in a position to make any statement at present.

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether, in view of the present serious fall in prices, he will consider giving assistance to home-produced mutton and lamb, thus enabling sheep farmers to meet their obligations of higher wages and increased costs?

The difficulties and objections involved in any scheme of financial assistance to producers of sheep and lambs are such that I am afraid that I can hold out no prospect of the proposal being adopted.

asked the Minister of Agriculture what is the present number of creameries operated by the Milk Marketing Board; what is their estimated intake for the next 12 months; and what steps are to be taken to ensure that these creameries only use surplus milk and are not supplied in such a way as to divert the essential supplies of private creameries?

The Milk Marketing Board at present operate 16 creameries, including separating stations. I have no information as to what their probable intake will be during the next 12 months. As to the remainder of the question, I would refer my hon. Friend to the replies given on 21st July to my hon. Friends the Members for Argyll (Mr. Macquisten) and Newport (Sir R. Clarry).

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether he can give the names of the chairman and members of the committee appointed to consider monetary penalties under the Marketing Acts?

The composition of this committee is not yet quite complete, but I hope to be able to announce it before the House rises.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he can state the number of immunised children who have suffered from diphtheria since immunisation was started in Edinburgh and the number of fatal cases in immunised children; and similar details for Glasgow, Dundee, and Aberdeen?

In Edinburgh out of approximately 27,000 children inoculated against diphtheria since 1924, 140 have suffered from diphtheria and three have died. In Aberdeen, out of approximately 4,500 children so inoculated since September, 1936, 23 have suffered from diphtheria and none have died. I regret that information relating to Dundee and Glasgow is not available.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for India whether he can give the House any further information with regard to recent events in the State of Sikar?

The town of Sikar has surrendered to the forces of the Maharajah of Jaipur, apparently without further fighting. An amnesty has been granted by the Jaipur authorities to persons within the town, except the ringleaders of the disturbances.

asked the Postmaster-General whether the committee set up to consider the question of prices under noncompetitive agreements has completed its work, and whether he can make a statement with regard to the conclusions reached?

I regret that I am not yet in a position to make a statement on this matter on which discussions are still taking place with the manufacturing interests concerned.

asked the Postmaster-General whether he is aware that Mr. T. Bara, 73, High Street, Ferndale, sent a letter to Hospitals Trust, Limited, Dublin, during the month of June, in which he enclosed a 10s. postal order for a hospital sweepstake ticket; that his letter and postal order were returned by his Department; and under what authority this was done, in view of the assurance given by the late Home Secretary that people would be allowed to send for one ticket?

I have been asked to reply. As has been previously stated by my predecessors it is not a specific offence under the Betting and Lotteries Act, 1934, for a person in this country to apply for a single ticket for his own use. The use of the post for this purpose cannot be allowed because such use would facilitate the sale and distribution of these tickets in this country in contravention of the law.

asked the Postmaster-General whether, in view of the rapid growth of the population, he will reconsider the demand for a Crown post office at White-field?

As the hon. Member is aware, the question of providing a Crown Post Office at Whitefield was fully considered last year but the volume of postal business transacted was not sufficient to justify the change. I am, however, having the position investigated afresh and will communicate with the hon. Member in due course.

asked the Minister of Health how many public authorities have introduced the 48-hour week for nurses; and whether the London County Council introduced on 1st July its promised 48-hour week with other advantages?

I have no complete information as to the number of local authorities which have introduced a 48-hour week for nurses. I am informed that the London County Council decided on 18th May last that as from the 1st July a 96-hour fortnight should be substituted for the existing hours of work. The scheme has been put into operation at a number of hospitals, but it has not yet been possible to recruit the numbers of staff necessary to put it into full operation.

asked the Minister of Health whether he will give the latest figures in his possession of the number of old-age pensioners who are in receipt of relief from the Poor Law authorities, and what percentage they represent of the number of pensioners; and will he give separate figures for Lancashire?

In reply to the first part of the question I would refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him on 2nd June last. No later figures are available, as the only returns made to my Department which distinguish the number of old-age pensioners in the category mentioned in the question are those relating to the 1st January in each year.As regards the last part of the question, the number of old-age pensioners in this category on the 1st January, 1938, in the administrative county of Lancaster, together with the 17 associated county boroughs, was 33,808. I regret that I am unable to state the proportion which this number bears to the total number of old-age pensioners in Lancashire, as the records of old-age pensions are not arranged on a territorial basis.

asked the Attorney-General, in view of the uncertainty as to whether an ex-mayor of a borough is entitled to continue to serve as a temporary magistrate for one year after the end of his term of mayoralty, what steps he intends to take to clarify the position?

Under the Local Government Act of 1933 a mayor is a Justice of the Peace by virtue of his office, and continues unless he becomes disqualified to be a Justice of the Peace during the following year. In the case of a non-county borough the mayor is in addition a Justice of the Peace for the county during his year of office, but not for the succeeding year. I am aware that some uncertainty has arisen under the latter provision where the non-county borough has not a separate commission of the peace. If the hon. Gentleman has any particular case in mind I will look into it.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Education whether his Department is to take any action on the lines of the recommendations of the nutrition committee of the League of Nations towards a general extension of the provision of free meals for necessitous schoolchildren in view of the proved beneficial results in the form of improved health and physique, and in order to deal with the problem of undernourishment disclosed at a recent meeting of the Rowett Research Institute showing that one-half of the population are not now receiving a diet adequate towards real health?

Action on the lines recommended in the final report of the nutrition committee of the League of Nations was taken in this country many years before the publication of that report in 1937 and the provision of free meals and milk for necessitous under-nourished schoolchildren has been steadily growing during the last 10 years. In 1927–28 the number of children who received free meals or milk was 82,410 and the net expenditure of local education authorities on this service £182,673, whereas in 1936–37 the number of children was 535,300 and the expenditure £668,156. It is the policy of the Board to encourage a further extension of the provision in all areas where the existing provision is insufficient.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Education whether he will bring up to date the information given on 25th June, 1936, in regard to the period during which school meals are provided?

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply which I gave to the hon. Member for Hemsworth (Mr. G. Griffiths) on 7th July last, a copy of which I am sending him.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Education whether he is aware of the position of the school at Peasedown, near Bath, with regard to a water supply; that the school and the school house have been without water since the 13th June, and that the teachers have been forced to take water from Bath; and what steps he proposes to take to put this matter right?

I am not aware of any difficulty regarding the water supply at the Peasedown Council School, but 1 am having inquiries made and will communicate

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Education whether his attention has been drawn to a recommendation of the education committee of the Liverpool City Council to authorise corporal punishment for mentally defective children under the control of the education committee; and whether he proposes to take any action in the matter?

The Board have received no communication from the Liverpool local education authority on this subject, but I have seen Press reports of the recommendation in question. The Board's view is that the use of corporal punishment in a special school for mentally defective children is to be deprecated and should be resorted to only in exceptional circumstances.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Education whether he will give for the calendar year 1937 the figures with regard to black list schools given for 1935 and 1936 on 21st January, 1937?

Following is the answer:

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Education what number of certificated teachers were unemployed in Wales and what number in the county of Glamorgan in the year ended March, 1938?

I regret that the Board have no means of ascertaining how many teachers are at any particular time definitely seeking employment.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies (1) whether he is aware that, whereas the number of persons per qualified doctor in Great Britain is approximately 1,000, in some parts of the British Colonies the proportion is as high as 100,000 to one; and whether, in these circumstances, he has under consideration any plans for increasing the personnel of the Colonial medical service;(2) what is the present position with regard to obtaining recruits for the Colonial medical service; and whether the supply substantially exceeds the demand or vice versa;(3) whether he can state the present approximate number of persons per qualified doctor in each of the principal British Colonies?

The ultimate objective at which the Colonial Office is aiming, in developing the medical services of the Colonial Dependencies, is to bring the best modern medical resources within the reach of the whole of the peoples of the Dependencies. It would be impossible in most cases to give accurate figures regarding the proportion of qualified medical practitioners to the population in each Dependency without reference to the Colonial Governments. Nor indeed would such figures give a reliable picture of the position, since a single Dependency may contain areas at very different stages of development. There is no doubt that, in some areas, we are very far from having attained the objective which I have defined. On the other hand, there are many places where ample medical facilities, both public and private, are available.The public health services of the Dependencies are being continually developed, as funds and circumstances permit, but, having regard to the large areas and populations to be covered, it is clear that the eventual attainment of the objective must depend, not on an indefinite increase in the number of imported medical officers, but on the progressive training of medical staffs drawn from the local inhabitants. The policy of training such staffs is being actively pursued wherever possible.In the meantime, the responsibility for the education of the local populations in the many aspects of preventive medicine, for the organisation of the public health services, and for the treatment of disease, rests principally upon the members of the Colonial medical service, and there can be no doubt that for many years to come that service will continue to call for a steady flow of recruits of the best personal and professional type from this country. The present state of recruitment for the service is satisfactory, and it cannot be said that the demand substantially exceeds the supply of fully suitable candidates. There has been some recent difficulty in recruiting for service in the West African Dependencies, but I have no reason to suppose that this difficulty is other than temporary.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether employés of the Navy, Army and Air Force Institute are permitted to join a trade union; how their conditions of employment are negotiated; and whether the management's actions on the subject have the general approval of the Service Departments?

The conditions of employment by this corporation are a matter for the management, but I understand that every employé is at liberty to join the trade union appropriate to the nature of his employment. In these circumstances the last part of the question does not arise.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether he has any statement to make on the establishment of a munition factory in Merthyr Tydfil?

My right hon. Friend has nothing to add to the information given in reply to a question on this subject on 14th April last by the hon. Member for Merthyr (Mr. S. O. Davies).

asked the Minister of Pensions whether he will state the number of persons in receipt of disability pensions and the number granted each year to date since the termination of the Great War?

The number of disability pensioners on 31st March, 1938, was approximately 434,700. Following is the answer to the second part of the question:

asked the Minister of Pensions whether a pensioner receiving treatment in a military hospital, who was unemployed and receiving unemployment benefit at the time of entering hospital, is eligible for full treatment allowances under Article 6 of the Royal Warrant of 1919; whether a pensioner who was in receipt of Unemployment Assistance Board allowances at the date of admission to hospital is entitled to full treatment allowances; and will he quote the regulation covering this procedure?

The full allowances provided by Article 6 of the Royal Warrant are designed to compensate for the earnings which the patient has lost in consequence of undergoing a prescribed course of treatment, and may be paid where the man is, at the commencement, found to be no more than temporarily out of employment. In other cases, where this condition is not satisfied and the patient is in receipt of either unemployment benefit or assistance before treatment, supplementary grants are payable which substantially meet the loss of income suffered by their families. Allowances are paid under the terms of Article 6 of the Royal Warrant of December, 1919, supplemented by special authority where necessary.

asked the Minister of Labour how many persons were unemployed in the Thorne area on 1st July, 1936, 1937 and 1938; how many in the same area were in receipt of unemployment assistance; and what steps have been taken to increase employment in the area?

Figures are not available for 1st July. The numbers of unemployed persons on the registers of Thorne Employment Exchange at 22nd June, 1936, 21st June, 1937, and 13th June, 1938, were 4,063, 4,136 and 1,401, respectively. These totals included 1,122, 776 and 709 persons, respectively, with applications authorised for the payment of unemployment allowances. Comparison with the years 1936 and 1937 is affected by the incidence of the annual demonstration of the Yorkshire Mineworkers Association. As regards the last part of the question, no special steps have been taken in respect of the Thorne area alone.

asked the Minister of Labour whether he is aware that notices have been issued by the Employment Exchanges in the city of Birmingham to all unemployed persons who are drawing unemployment benefit that, as from 25th July, such administrative changes will be made which will result in the immediate loss to the unemployed persons of one day's unemployment benefit; whether he will take such prompt action as will prevent these unemployed persons being subjected to this loss?

Owing to the pressure on the accommodation at the Birmingham Employment Exchange it has been necessary to arrange to make payments of benefit on two days, Thursday and Friday, instead of on Friday only. Normally this would mean that those paid on Thursday would be paid for the week ending Tuesday instead of the week ending Wednesday, so that on their first attendance they would be one day short, this day being of course included in the next pay-week. Owing to the incidence of Bank Holiday, special steps have been taken to postpone this change until two weeks after the holiday, and payments up to Wednesday will therefore be made to those with current claims who are paid on Thursday in this week and next week.

asked the Minister of Labour whether he will state the industries in which there is a shortage of labour at the present moment or at the latest date for which statistics are available?

The principal classes of vacancies notified to the Employment Exchanges for which difficulty is experienced in some districts in finding a sufficient number of suitably qualified work-people include those for bricklayers, carpenters and joiners in the building trade, tool room workers, fitters, turners, skilled machinists, instrument makers, draughtsmen and other skilled engineering trade workers, shipwrights, coppersmiths and certain other skilled classes in the shipbuilding industry, experienced hotel workers and private domestic servants.

asked the Minister of Transport whether, before consenting to the demolition of the ancient town hall at Wrexham, he consulted the town planning committee for the county of Denbigh and the Historical Monuments Committee; and, if so, whether either, or both, of such bodies were in favour of the proposed demolition; and, assuming that such demolition is sanctioned by his Department, what is the estimated cost in respect of the road-widening occasioned thereby which will ultimately fall upon the ratepayers of the borough of Wrexham?

The Wrexham Town Council, the County Council and the Office of Works have all been consulted about the scheme, which was originally proposed by the town council themselves. It was agreed that the site of the Hand Inn and Town Hall Vaults is essential for the road improvement, and the Office of Works did not feel, in all the circumstances, that they could object to the removal of the buildings thereon.The Wrexham Town Council have agreed to contribute 25 per cent. of the cost of the improvement, but no reliable estimate can be given until negotiations for the acquisition of the site have been concluded.

asked the First Commissioner of Works what are the hours per shift worked at the Bridgend Royal Arsenal?

The actual working hours per shift on the north site are: day shift—10 hours, night shift—11 hours. On the south site there are two contracts running concurrently; on the first the working hours on the day shift are nine, and on the night shift nine and one half, and on the second one shift only is worked, the working hours being nine and one half.

asked the First Commissioner of Works what is the number of persons engaged on the north and south sites, separately, at the Bridgend Royal Arsenal?

The number of persons engaged, at the present time, on the north and south sites are 685 and 973 respectively.

asked the First Commissioner of Works whether he will state the total number of visitors to the Tower of London during 1937; the total amount taken in admission fees during that time; the annual expenditure incurred for wages paid to the staff; and whether the Tower as an exhibition is self-supporting?

I regret that I am not able to state the total number of visitors. The total taken in entrance fees was £23,377. The annual expenditure on warders, etc., is £9,000. The expenditure on the maintenance of the historic parts of the structure in the year ending 31st March, 1937, was about £10,000 and of the remainder £6,000.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether he is aware that a large number of Territorials employed in the works department of the Crombie depot are ranked as casuals and therefore get no pay during the holiday week, 1st to 6th August, and also no payment during the period of their Territorial camp, from 28th August to 11th September, thus being without pay for three weeks between the beginning of August and September; and whether he will cause sympathetic consideration to be given to the claims of these men in this respect?

I have ascertained that there are only two Territorials to whom this question can refer and although neither of these men is eligible for leave with pay during the closed week both will be eligible for leave with pay if they attend their annual Territorial camp from 28th August to 11th September.

asked the right hon. and gallant Member for Rye, as representing the Forestry Commissioners, whether he will instruct the officer of his Department, when visiting the Kergord estate in Shetland, to get in touch with the Zetland County Council and discuss with that body as to the practicability of tree planting in certain districts?

The practicability of tree planting in certain districts of Shetland will be discussed with the Zetland County Council.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury whether he will consider introducing legislation whereby old age contributory pensions may be credited to a Post Office savings bank, trustee savings bank, or joint stock bank account at the end of each quarter against receipt of a life certificate similar to that in force in the case of Government annuities granted by the National Debt Commission?

An arrangement of the kind suggested would have no attraction for the vast majority of pensioners. The cost of separate machinery for the comparatively small number who might make use of it would not be justified.