asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty how many Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve depôts there are along the South Coast; where they are situated; and whether he is satisfied that the number is adequate?

There is one R.N.V.R. Division (Sussex Division) situated on the South Coast. The Headquarters of this Division is at Hove, and there is an outlying unit at Newhaven. The question of opening further Divisions is at present under consideration.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty whether seaman-rating candidates for commissions who, after taking the special nine months' course for commissioned rank, pass both the educational and professional examinations but are rejected by the Final Selection Board or the Admiralty, are considered to have qualified in educational subjects and in seamanship for warrant rank or not; and, if not, whether he will revise the regulations to remove the anomaly that a rating who has passed these two examinations for commissioned rank is not considered to be qualified in these two subjects for the junior grade of warrant rank?

The reply to the former part of the hon. Member's question is in the affirmative; the latter part of the question therefore does not arise.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty whether he will state the disposal of the 14 seamen ratings who, out of the 31 candidates for commissions, were this year rejected; the ratings at present held; the number who have been put on course for warrant rank and for what rank; and the number who have been sent to sea as leading seamen to obtain recommendatioons for warrant rank, though they have already been recommended and passed the Fleet Selection Board for commissioned rank; and whether the latter ratings would now have been further ahead for warrant rank if they had not taken the special nine months' course for a commission?

Of the 14 ratings in question nine were rated Acting Petty Officer, placed on the roster for Gunner and are now undergoing the course for that rank. Two were sent to sea as Acting Petty Officers and three were sent to sea as Leading Seamen. These five ratings would not have been better placed for promotion to Warrant rank if they had not taken the special course for commissioned rank.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury what is the present position with regard to the evolution of a contributory pensions scheme for unestablished employés in His Majesty's naval establishments; and whether there is any possibility of such a scheme being introduced before 1940?

The question of establishing a contributory pensions scheme both for unestablished employés in H.M. Naval establishments and for Government industrial employés generally has recently been under consideration. In view of the heavy expenditure on the part of the State which such a scheme would involve, it has been necessary to decide that the present time is not an opportune one for putting it into operation, although the Government would in principle be glad to see a scheme established when circumstances permit.

asked the Secretary of State for Air whether it is proposed to run a passenger service to Switzerland throughout this winter; and, if so, the type of aircraft that will be used and the estimated time saved by the British machine as compared with the American machines now used by Swiss Air?

Imperial Airways propose to start a daily service in each direction between London and Zurich in January next: the pressure of Christmas mail traffic on the Empire routes makes it impracticable to start the service earlier. The aircraft used will be of the Frobisher class, and the scheduled time of flight will be three hours as in the case of Swiss Air; but the Company hope that in practice the average time may be somewhat less.

asked the Home Secretary what has been the cost of the experimental motor-patrol scheme in the county of Lancaster during the first six months of its operation; and whether he could give an estimate of the approximate annual cost of such a scheme if carried out for the whole of Great Britain?

The cost of the experimental motor police scheme in the Lancashire police district, excluding the cost of providing and running the motor patrol vehicles, for the period 1st April, 1938, to 3oth September, 1938, was £63,034. The cost of vehicles is met by the payment from the Road Fund of an annual grant based on mileage run: final figures are not yet available for this period, but the amount payable is estimated at about £9,300. The cost of applying the scheme over the whole of England and Wales cannot, on the information at present available, be estimated with any precision, but it might be expected to be of the order of £2,500,000 a year.

asked the Home Secretary what committees connected with his Department are now in being; whether he will state in each case the name of the committee; whether it is classified as departmental, advisory, or otherwise; whether it is a statutory committee or otherwise; when it was appointed; and whether it consists of or includes representatives of interests concerned?

The following is a list of the Committees with their dates of appointment:

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he will state the total number of employed persons in Scotland aged 60 years or over?

Exact figures are not available. So far as persons aged 60 and under 65 are concerned, the available figures relate to persons insured under the Unemployment Insurance Acts. On the basis of a sample inquiry it is estimated that the number of persons of these ages insured under the General and Agricultural Schemes of Unemployment Insurance in Scotland at July, 1937, was about 60,000. In February, 1938, the number of insured persons of these ages in Scotland who were unemployed was about 15,000. The number of persons over age 65 in employment insurable under the National Health Insurance Acts in the second half of 1937 was estimated at a little over 40,000. These are the latest figures available. No information is available regarding persons not in insurable employment.