asked the Minister of Labour whether he will indicate the course of employment in the district of Greenock by industries, numbers, and percentages for the last two available months, respectively?

The table below shows for the area served by the Greenock Employment Exchange the numbers of insured persons, aged 16–64 years, in the principal industries recorded as unemployed at 12th December, 1938, and 16th January,1939, and these numbers expressed as percentages of the estimated numbers insured at July, 1938.the latest convenient date in 1939, and the respective numbers unemployed at that time;(2) whether he will give the figures of unemployment in the boot and shoe industry for the whole country and for the city of Leicester, respectively, at the latest convenient date in 1939; and the number of persons, respectively, registered for employment in this industry at the like time?

The following table shows for Great Britain and for Leicester the estimated numbers of insured persons, aged 14–64, in the hosiery industry and in the boot and shoe industry at July, 1938 (the latest date for which particulars are available), and the numbers of such persons recorded as unemployed at 16th January, 1939:

—	Hosiery Industry.	Boot and Shoe Industry.*
	Estimated Numbers of Insured Persons, aged 14–64, at July, 1938.
Great Britain	130,640	147,080
Leicester	33,080	20,380
	Insured persons, aged 14–64, recorded as Unemployed at 16th Janury, 1939.
Great Britain	12,920	15,484
Leicester	3,249	1,445
* The figures cover boot, shoe, slipper and clog manufacture and repairing; separate figures are not available for boot and shoe manufacture.

asked the Minister of Labour whether he will state as far as possible the number of unemployed in the mining industry of Great Britain in each of the various age-groups?

The following table shows the numbers of insured men and boys in the coal-mining industry recorded as unemployed in Great Britain at 16th January, 1939, analysed according to the age-groups for which these figures are available:

Age-Group.			Number.
14–15 years	…	…	419
16–17 years	…	…	1,737
18–20 years	…	…	3,708
21–64 years	…	…	105,099
Total 14–64 years	…	…	110,963

A more detailed analysis in respect of ages 18 to 64 is available for 28th February, 1938. The following table shows the numbers of insured men in the

coal-mining industry registered as unemployed in Great Britain at that date, distinguishing different age-groups:

Age-Group.			Number.
18–20 years	…	…	2,357
21–24 years	…	…	6,459
25–34 years	…	…	19,003
35–44 years	…	…	19,764
45–54 years	…	…	20,897
55–64 years	…	…	25,653
Total 18–64 years	…	…	94,133

asked the Minister of Transport what action he is taking in regard to the fact that traffic blocks are getting worse in London?

Traffic conditions in London are continually under review with the object of introducing measures designed to secure that the best possible use is made of all available road space. I have given notice of my intention to make regulations dealing with one of the main causes of congestion, namely, the waiting vehicle. At the present time I am considering both the representations which have been made against this proposal and also the various other measures which have been put forward as possible alternatives.

asked the Minister of Transport whether in the construction of by-pass and arterial roads the greatest care is taken to avoid, if possible, the destruction of agricultural land; and how many acres of such land have been taken over in Scotland within the last three years for road operations sanctioned, assisted, or carried out by his Department?

The answer to the first part of the question is in the affirmative, but my hon. and gallant Friend will, of course, appreciate the difficulties involved. Information on the second part of the question is not available and considerable research would be required to obtain it.

asked the Minister of Transport whether he has considered a communication from the North Queens-ferry Development Association on the question of the Forth Road Bridge; and what steps he is taking to facilitate this urgent project?

I cannot trace the receipt of any such communication as that to which the hon. Member refers. As regards the second part of the question, I have nothing to add to the statement made on the Motion for the Adjournment on 29th July last.

asked the Minister of Transport whether he is aware that private cars taxed under horse-power are entitled by law to draw trailers, from which goods are sold, without paying additional tax, whereas goods vehicles are not; and will he, in fairness to all traders, consider proposing an amendment of the present law so as to make trailers, used for trading purposes and drawn by private motor cars, liable to taxation?

I have asked the Transport Advisory Council to examine the position and to consider whether it is desirable to amend in any respect the present law regarding trailers drawn by private cars.

asked the Minister of Transport when he expects to receive the report of the Transport Advisory Committee on the railway companies' square deal application; and whether any necessary legislation will be introduced at an early date?

The council are dealing with this question as a matter of urgency but I am not yet in a position to say when their report may be expected.

asked the Minister of Transport upon whose instructions are summonses in connection with the keeping of records and working excessive hours instituted in the north-western traffic area?

Proceedings for the offences to which the hon. Member refers are instituted by the traffic area licensing authority or the police authorities.

asked the Minister of Transport when the work of widening the Newport (Monmouthshire)-Brecon road will be commenced?

The acquisition of the necessary land for the improvement of the trunk road at Croes-y-Ceiliog will shortly be put in hand, but I am not at present in a position to say when constructional works will begin. With regard to the improvement of the county road between Abergavenny and Brecon, the report of a public inquiry, held on 24th January last, is under consideration.

asked the Minister of Transport whether he is aware that the town of Kilmarnock had no street accidents resulting in death or injury during 1938; and what explanation can he give for this?

No persons were killed in road accidents in Kilmarnock during 1938, as against four in 1937, but the number of persons injured rose from 140 to 158. I am glad to say that the responsible authorities have adopted various measures calculated to reduce the number of accidents and they will, I trust, continue their efforts. It is, however, scarcely possible to draw reliable conclusions from the figures which I have quoted.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he will make a statement regarding the condition, maintenance, obligations, and any proposals for improvement of the pier at Lochmaddy, North Uist, used by the Outer Isles mail steamer service?

Lochmaddy Pier is in private ownership and my right hon. Friend is not in possession of detailed information about its condition. If assistance is desired from State funds towards the improvement of the pier it will be necessary in the first place for the county council to consider the position in terms of the Harbours, Piers and Ferries Act, 1937.

asked the Secretary to the Overseas Trade Department on how many occasions during the past six months, and in what industrial areas outside the London Metropolitan district, he has himself personally interview in those areas the local representatives of commerce; and will he consider visiting the industrial areas much more frequently to support his staff in their efforts to extend export trade?

I have been asked to reply. My right hon. Friend has, since he was appointed to the Department of Overseas Trade, paid frequent visits to industrial areas throughout the United Kingdom. He intends to continue such visits as frequently as may be necessary and possible.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what would be the total surplus stocks of iron and steel essential in the event of war; and if he can also state what these stocks were at 4th August, 1914?

It would not be in the public interest to state the expected requirements of iron and steel in an emergency, but I can assure the hon. Member that the Board of Trade are constantly in close touch with the Iron and Steel Federation on the whole subject of supplies for an emergency. The Federation regularly obtain information, which is also confidential, about stocks of pig iron and iron ore at the present time. No information is available about stocks in 1914.

asked the Secretary for Mines whether he is now prepared to state what steps are being taken to secure adequate supplies of oil in the event of war; and whether he can state the quantity of home-produced oil compared with Germany?

As regards the first part of the question I would refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade on 16th November last to my hon. and gallant Friend the Member for Accrington (Major Procter), and in the case of the second part, to the reply I gave on the 6th December to a question by the hon. Member for Spennymoor (Mr. Batey).

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury whether he will give a table showing the total amount spent on the Defence forces for each year since the Great War?

The estimated expenditure on Navy, Army (including Ordnance Factories) and Air Votes for the year 1938 is £368,559,000, excluding any supplementary estimates still to be presented. For the figures of actual expenditure in respect of earlier years I would refer the hon. Member to the tables published in the annual Statistical Abstracts for the United Kingdom, Section V, "National Finance," under the heading "National Revenue, Expenditure, etc." He will find the figures for the years in question conveniently summarised on page 134 of Command Paper No. 4233 (1933) and page 174 of Command Paper No. 5903 (1939).

asked the Lord Privy Seal whether he can make any report upon the response to date to the national service appeal?

It is now only six days since the distribution of the National Service Guide was substantially completed, and it is not possible for me at this stage to give complete or accurate figures for the number of applications for enrolment so far received. From reports which I have obtained from all over the country, however, it appears that up to and including Saturday last, 4th February, over 100,000 applications for enrolment had been received at the local national service offices. This figure naturally does not include considerable numbers of applications made to the offices of various services direct and not at that date transmitted to the National Service Department of the Ministry of Labour.I hope to be in a position to give the House fuller information of the progress of the campaign when I have received the detailed returns which I have arranged shall be furnished to me for the period ending 18th February.

asked the Prime Minister what conversations have taken place with the Netherlands Government concerning co-operation in Defence matters in the Far East?

Beyond the normal interchanges of information on technical points connected with Defence matters, which take place between various Governments including that of the Netherlands, there have been no special conversations.

asked the Secretary for Mines whether he will state the total production of coal in this country for the year 1938, the average pithead price per ton, and the total amount exported?

It is estimated that 228,214,000 tons of saleable coal were produced in Great Britain in 1938, of which 211,700,000 tons were disposable commercially. The quantity of coal exported as cargo during the year was 35,861,000 tons and foreign bunker shipments amounted to 10,489,000 tons. Complete information as to prices is not yet available, but it is estimated that during 1938 proceeds amounted to 17s. 4d. per ton disposable commercially.

asked the Lord Privy Seal whether any local authorities have submitted proposals for the establishment of deep-level car-parking centres, which would be available as deep bomb-proof civilian shelters in time of emergency; and how many, if any, of them have been approved and are about to be constructed, and in what localities?

Proposals for car park shelters have been submitted by five local authorities. One, submitted by Birmingham, has been approved in principle, and its construction may be expected to start in the near future. Neither the Birmingham shelter, nor most of the others, could properly be described as bomb-proof as they do not purport to be proof against a direct hit.

asked the Lord Privy Seal whether he is aware of the widespread demand for the provision of bomb-proof shelters; and what steps he is taking to meet it?

asked the Lord Privy Seal what is his policy with regard to the provision, in evacuation areas, of deep underground bomb-proof shelters?

I would refer the hon. Members to the reply which I gave to a question by my hon. Friend the Member for Duddeston (Mr. Simmonds) on 2nd February.

asked the Lord Privy Seal whether he can now report improvement in the supply of air-raid precautions training equipment and its distribution to local authorities?

Yes, Sir; deliveries to local authorities are now being made at an accelerated rate.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether any estimate has been made of the effect upon the national revenue of the provisions contained in the London Rating (Site Values) Bill?

No, Sir. No such estimate has been made.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he can state the taxation per head in the United Kingdom for 1937–38, also the corresponding figures for France, Germany, Italy, and the United States of America?

In conveying the information in the subjoined table, I must point out that calculations of this kind are an inadequate guide to the true burden of taxation owing to differences in the financial systems of the countries concerned and in their circumstances generally.

Taxation* per head.
United Kingdom	…	1937–8	£17 16s. 2d.
France	…	1937	Frs. 1037.
Germany	…	1937–8	Rms. 202.50.
Italy	…	1937–8	Lire 436.†
United States	…	1937–8	$40.71.‡
* National taxation only, excluding local taxation and (in Germany and United States) State taxation.
† Estimated.
‡ Excluding Pay-roll taxes.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what restrictions are imposed on distilleries where only industrial and power alcohol is manufactured?

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply given to my hon. Friend the Member for Stourbridge (Mr. R. Morgan) on 20th December last.

asked the Home Secretary whether he can yet make any further statement as to what steps are proposed to reduce the increasing number of deaths, including a number of juveniles, caused by or in connection with lifts and hoists on non-factory premises?

I do not know on what my hon. and gallant Friend bases his suggestion that the number of fatal accidents is increasing, but I agree that the question requires attention and I have been glad to note that the London County Council are including in a Bill now before Parliament provisions enabling some control to be exercised over lifts which are not subject to the Factory Act.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether, in view of the plight of the Polish Jews expelled from Germany and detained in No Man's Land, numbering some 6,000 of all ages and both sexes, without adequate food or shelter, he will consider saving the lives of these victims by allowing them to go to Palestine?

I understand that an agreement was recently concluded between the German and Polish Governments on this matter, and the question does not therefore arise.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether his attention has been called to a publication produced by the Arab National Bureau, containing allegations against British troops of atrocities in the Holy Land; and what steps he is taking to refute these allegations and make the true facts known?

The answer to the first part of the question is in the affirmative. As regards the second part, a statement was published on 10th January last, describing the real situation in Palestine and the actual measures being taken to deal with it.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether a separate labour department has been set up in Cyprus, and factory, mine, and other inspectors appointed to administer the recent workmen's compensation laws; and what is the position with regard to the formation of trade unions on the island?

There is no separate labour department in Cyprus, but the post of Labour Adviser to the Government was recently created. A workmen's compensation Bill is under consideration by the Cyprus Government, but so far as I am aware has not yet become law. Legislation permitting the formation of trade unions was enacted in 1932.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he has received any report of the disturbances in Gibraltar outside the office of the Burgos Consulate on 27th January; whether any action has been taken in respect of the provocative conduct of the inmates of the consulate of that date; what action the police took to control the crowds outside, and how many arrests were made?

I have received a report from the Governor of Gibraltar upon the incident to which the hon. Member refers. The Governor does not state how many persons, if any, were arrested, but the incident was not serious, and although a crowd collected, it was dispersed without difficulty. The assistant agent of General Franco, outside whose house the disturbance took place, was subsequently informed that his conduct was regarded as indiscreet and as having conduced to the disturbance.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he will state the number of occasions during the past two years on which the British Board of Film Censors has communicated with the Colonial Office for information or advice; and whether he will give the names of the films concerned?

No communication has been received at the Colonial Office from the British Board of Film Censors during the past two years.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for India whether he will state the number of occasions during the past two years on which the British Board of Film Censors has communicated with the India Office for information or advice; and whether he will give the names of the films concerned?

The India Office was consulted by the British Board of Film Censors on five occasions during the past two years. Since the board is a body with independent responsibilities it appears to my Noble Friend inappropriate that he should make public particulars of the kind asked by the hon. Member.

asked the Minister of Health whether he is aware that public assistance committees take into account help given from British Legion funds when they are adjudicating upon applications by ex-service men for out-door relief; and will he consider the advisability of recommending these committees to treat such help in the same way as is done in the statutory provisions which ignore the first 20s. of a disability pension?

There is no statutory authority which would entitle public assistance committees to disregard help given from British Legion funds to applicants for relief. In the absence of statutory authority, my right hon. Friend has no power to authorise the committees to ignore such help.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty what changes have been made or are proposed in the programme of warship construction in the light of recent decisions taken by Germany in regard to the Anglo-German Naval Agreement?

In drawing up the 1939 programme of new construction His Majesty's Government have given full consideration to the latest information relating to the navies of all other Powers. Details of this programme will be published in the Navy Estimates.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty how many former members of the Board of Admiralty have joined the board of the British Power Boat Company and what Government contracts the British Power Boat Company at present enjoys?

One former member of the Board of Admiralty, now retired, has joined the board of the British Power Boat Company, Limited. Together with other leading firms in the motor boat industry this company holds several Government contracts for the construction and repair of motor craft, but it would not be in the public interest to specify what these contracts are.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty whether he can state the total expenditure on the repairs to ships of His Majesty's Navy, while afloat, carried out by civilian labour; and what percentage of the work was done by labour from the ports of South Wales and Monmouthshire?

I presume the hon. Member has in mind work carried out by civilian labour on the normal upkeep of His Majesty's ships in commission and in reserve. This work, with very minor exceptions, is carried out exclusively in His Majesty's dockyards. The probable expenditure on labour for this service during the current financial year is about £1,500,000

asked the Secretary of State for Air whether he will give the numbers and description of aircraft ordered and received by Imperial Airways, Limited, respectively, in 1937 and 1938; and the number withdrawn or discontinued in those years?

Following is the information:

asked the Secretary of State for Air what replacements have taken place, or are in immediate contemplation, in the aircraft of Imperial Airways, Limited, to take the place of the machines recently withdrawn from their services?

The "Ensign" aircraft which were recently withdrawn from European services operated by Imperial Airways have been replaced on those services by "Frobisher" aircraft supplemented, as necessary, by older types. The company has since ordered two more "Frobisher" type aircraft.

asked the Secretary of State for Air whether he will give a list of airports in this country where internal airlines are operating at the present time, indicating which are municipal airports?

Following is the information:

Aerodromes to which internal services are now running.
Municipal Aerodromes.
Blackpool (Stanley Park).	Manchester (Ring-way).
Cardiff.	Newcastle.
Carlisle.	Perth.
Doncaster.	Portsmouth.
Grimsby.	Renfrew.
Hull.	Southampton (Easteigh).
Inverness.
Leeds-Bradford.	Stoke.
Liverpool.	Weston - super -Mare.
State owned, privately owned, etc.
Aberdeen (Dyce).	Kirkwall (Howe).
Barnstaple.	Stromness (Howe).
Barra.	Lerwick (Sumburgh)
Belfast (Harbour).
Benbecula.	Lundy Island.
Birmingham (Castle Bromwich)	North Uist (Sollas).
	Penzance.
Bournemouth.	Ryde.
Campbeltown.	Scilly Islands.
Croydon.	South Uist.
Edinburgh.	Swansea.
Harris.	Thurso.
Heston.	Tiree.
Islay.	Wick.
Kirkwall (Wide-ford).

asked the Attorney-General what is the reason for the delay in extending the compulsory registration of the title of land to more of the Northern and Midland industrial areas; whether he is aware that the extension would encourage building in the North and Midlands and render more easy the purchase and sale of newly-built medium-sized dwellings and shops; whether he will state the objection to the extension, in addition to Surrey; and whether the delay is related to ordnance surveys?

I am aware of the advantages which are expected to follow from the application of the compulsory provision of the Land Transfer Act to any new area, but my Noble Friend the Lord Chancellor is satisfied that the best method to promote a general system of compulsory registration on sale throughout the country is to proceed step by step as and when the special maps necessary to the purpose can be prepared and the staff trained.

asked the Secretary of State for Air whether he is aware that applicants for apprenticeships in the Royal Air Force are given medical and educational examinations near their homes, and if such are successfully passed, they are then required to proceed to Halton or West Drayton for further examinations; that this sometimes necessitates the applicants relinquishing their employment, and if they are unsuccessful in the later examinations they find themselves deprived of their former employment as a result of their effort to serve King and country; and can he arrange such final examinations in such a way as to avoid applicants having to give up their employment before being accepted for service?

I am aware of the difficulty to which the hon. Member refers and steps are taken to overcome it as far as practicable. The educational examinations for apprenticeships at Halton, Cranwell and Cosford are carried out by local educational authorities; and candidates for entry as boys at West Drayton are nominated by local authorities. There is no subsequent educational test at Halton, Cranwell, Cosford or West Drayton, but as boy entrants do not pass an educational examination they appear before a Selection Board of Royal Air Force Officers at West Drayton.All candidates are advised to have a preliminary medical examination at home which many local education authorities are also willing to arrange. This preliminary examination is arranged with a view to minimising the risk of subsequent rejection but it will be appreciated that it does not remove the necessity for an official medical examination of all candidates. It is not practicable, for many reasons, to arrange a wide distribution of Royal Air Force medical boards for the purpose of examining candidates near their homes. A medical board has been set up in Scotland in order to relieve Scottish candidates of the necessity of travelling to England for the sole purpose of medical examinations.