asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he has any information regarding the poor-keeping properties of loaves baked with straight-run blended flour which are being distributed at the present time throughout the country?

No, Sir, but I should be glad to consider any information which my hon. Friend may have on the subject.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he will take steps to ensure that the public receive a loaf of bread baked from Manitoba straight-run flour in view of the large amount of loaves baked with straight-run blended flour?

This does not appear to be a matter in which I am called upon to intervene.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he will take steps to let it be more widely known that he is prepared to act upon properly supported applications for investigation of the affairs of companies under Section 135 of the Companies Act, 1929, as knowledge by shareholders that investigations are readily granted, when properly supported, will tend to protect the public against unscrupulous manipulations behind limited liability?

The powers of the Board of Trade under Section 135 of the Companies Act, 1929, have recently received a good deal of publicity in the Press and I do not think any further action is necessary.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the Treasury make a contribution to local authorities in lieu of rates for property occupied by the Regular Army and Territorial Associations; and if there is any variation, the reason for any differentiation?

A contribution is paid in respect of property occupied by the Regular Army but not in respect of property occupied by Territorial Army Associations. The differentiation is based on the fact that the property of Territorial Army Associations is not directly maintained out of Voted moneys. This distinction is of long standing, and has in fact subsisted since before the inception of the Territorial Army.

asked the Minister of Health whether port medical officers of health are required to notify the owners of vessels in cases in which nuisances or defects in crews' accommodation are not remedied after notice has been served on the master?

There is no requirement that nuisances should be notified to ship owners in the circumstances to which the hon. Member refers, but port health authorities are empowered by statute to have recourse to a Court of Summary Jurisdiction in case of default. As regards defects of construction in crews' accommodation, it is the practice to bring any such defects as may be observed by their officers in the course of inspection to the notice of the surveyors of the Board of Trade.

asked the Minister of Health whether it is the general practice for a port medical officer of health to forward to the medical officer at the next port of call particulars of any nuisances or structural defects in vessels which were not remedied before the departure of the vessels from the port of detection?

I understand that the practice to which the hon. Member refers, which is not a statutory requirement, is adopted by many port medical officers of health, but I have no information as to its extent.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he will state the names of the large cargo vessels and tankers built and launched on the Continent to British orders during 1938; the tonnage, carrying capacity, name of owner, and port of registry of each vessel; and whether the vessel, in each case, was engined by Continental or British-made engines?

There are no official statistics giving particulars of vessels built or launched abroad for British owners, but following is a table compiled from the returns of the Registrar-General of Shipping and Seamen and from Lloyd's Register of Shipping giving all the particulars asked for in respect of the steam and motor vessels of 4,000 tons gross and over, which were added to the British register during 1938 after having been built abroad in that year or in 1937.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will state the estimated revenue for the United Kingdom for the calendar year 1938 in respect of spirits, home-made and imported, beer, home-made and imported, imported wines and British wines, and hops and hop extracts?

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply which I gave to my hon. and learned Friend the Member for East Leicester (Mr. Lyons) on 7th February.

asked the Secretary for Mines whether he is taking steps to investigate the causes of asthma among coal miners; and whether he has any figures at present as to the incidence of this disease among these workers?

As the hon. Member was informed in reply to his question on 14th February, there are no official figures of the incidence of asthma among coal miners. If the hon. Member has any reliable information at his disposal and will furnish me with it I shall be glad to study it, as at present I am not aware that the disease is so prevalent among miners as to call for a special investigation.

asked the Secretary for Mines whether he is aware that the coal mines regulations for the purpose of limiting hours of work below ground are constantly and openly being breached in Polmaise Colliery, Stirlingshire, by workmen with the consent of the management of the said colliery; and will he cause immediate steps to be taken to compel complete compliance with the said regulations both by workmen and master alike?

I have made inquiries and find that there has been little overtime recently among workmen at this colliery, except that, owing to difficulty in obtaining the services of suitable firemen, overtime has sometimes been necessary to cover the duties of any firemen who may be absent through illness.

asked the Secretary for Mines how much oil was produced in the Empire in 1937 and 1938, respectively; and how much oil was consumed in the United Kingdom last year?

The production of crude petroleum in the British Empire in 1937 was approximately 6 million tons. The quantity of refined oils (including production from shale, coal and coal products) available for consumption in the United Kingdom during the same year was about 10·3 million tons. This figure includes 1·4 million tons of fuel oil shipped for the use of vessels engaged in the foreign trade (including fishing vessels). Particulars for 1938 are not yet available.

asked the Minister of Pensions how many ex-servicemen, other ranks, received pension for disablement sustained in the Great War during the latest period of 12 months for which figures are available; what was the total amount paid to these men as disability pensions; the amounts paid, as allowances, in respect of men undergoing treatment of their pensionable disabilities, wives of disabled men, and attendance for severely disabled men; and the numbers of recipients of each class of allowance?

The number of pensions, other ranks, in payment on 31st March, 1938, was 412,059. The amount paid in respect of pension and treatment allowances to this class was, as shown in the Appropriation Account of the Ministry just published, £19,646,600. The records maintained by the Ministry do not show the separate details asked for by my hon. Friend.

asked the Minister of Pensions on what date com- menced the system of notification of public assistance committees by the Ministry's regional officers of the fact that a disabled ex-service man in receipt of public assistance had been admitted to hospital for treatment of his war disability, and that whilst in hospital the man would be eligible only for the normal pension, if any, paid to him; and how many such notifications have been made since that date?

The system was introduced in the interests of pensioners on the 21st October last, but no record of the notifications in question is maintained. I understand they are very few in number.

asked the Minister of Labour whether he will investigate the recent decision to discontinue recognition of the winter fishing season in the Western Isles, with a view to taking action, by legislation, if necessary, to have this decision revised, in view of the hardship imposed upon local herring-industry workers?

The decision to which I assume the hon. Members refers was given by the Umpire and I have no power to revise it.

asked the Minister of Labour whether he will state the number of persons registered as unemployed at Thirsk on the last convenient date, differentiating between those registered under the general scheme and those under the agricultural scheme?

At 16th January, 1939, 210 persons, aged 14–64, insured under the general scheme and 54 insured under the agricultural scheme, were recorded as unemployed at the Thirsk Employment Exchange.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty whether he is aware that the contract for dredging the Admiralty Harbour, Dover, has been awarded to a company which, although registered in Great Britain, is Dutch-owned and controlled; and whether the matter can be reconsidered with a view to awarding this important contract to a British firm?

A contract for dredging the Outer Harbour at Dover has, with the concurrence of the Admiralty, been let by the Dover Harbour Board, who are acting for the Department in the matter, to a British registered company which is Dutch controlled. Competitive tenders were obtained from six firms. Two are understood to be under entirely British ownership and control, but the acceptance of the tender of either of these would have involved an expenditure of practically double the sum for which the firm whose tender was accepted are doing the work. Moreover the time quoted by them for the completion of the work, which is urgently required, was considerably longer. In the circumstances stated, the reply to the second part of the question must be in the negative.

asked the Prime Minister whether he can give particulars of any action that has been taken by His Majesty's Government to safeguard the position which has recently arisen by the continued smuggling in China; and what is the present attitude of His Majesty's Government on this subject?

While His Majesty's Government naturally view with disfavour all evasions of the payment of Customs duties in China, my Noble Friend has received no reports of smuggling since the answer which I gave to the hon. Member on the 16th November last regarding the position in North China.

asked the Postmaster-General whether, in view of the persistent demand by local authorities, he will arrange to have the directions for use in telephone kiosks in the rural areas of Wales published in Welsh as well as in English?

I have given this matter very careful consideration, but the space available in the standard kiosk equipment is very restricted and it would not be practicable, without serious curtailment and resulting loss of clarity, to display a Welsh version as well as an English version of the instructions. Having regard to the small number of Welsh call office users who cannot read English, I think that any slight advantage which might be conferred by the introduction of Welsh translations of the notices would be more than offset by the disadvantages.

asked the Secretary of State for Air what has been the result of the deliberations arising out of the decision of the Southern Railway not to establish an aerodrome at Lulling-stone?

As I informed my hon. Friend the Member for Stroud (Mr. Perkins) on 1st February, negotiations are now in train for the purchase of the Lullingstone site by my Department.

asked the Secretary of State for Air what action was taken by the Air Ministry on the report that a British air liner was nearly struck by a projectile from a British warship in the Channel; whether the aircraft was flying over an officially recognised air-route; and whether it belonged to the company that requested the establishment of an officially recognised air-route for its traffic over the Southampton area?

The incident in question (which occurred last June) was reported to the Admiralty and arrangements were made for the exchange of information between that Department and the Air Ministry regarding the areas in which naval exercises are carried out and the routes followed by civil aircraft on scheduled services. The aircraft, which belonged to Jersey Airways, Limited, was not on an officially recognised air-route and was outside the area over which any such route could competently be prescribed. Jersey Airways is the company that asked for the establishment of an officially recognised air-route in the Southampton area.

asked the Prime Minister whether the signatory Powers, referred to in Article 15 of the 1919 Convention signed at St. Germain-en-Laye, did reassemble in 1929, or at any time thereafter, as agreed in the said Convention?

No, Sir. The meeting of the Signatory Powers envisaged in paragraph 1 of Article 15 of the Convention of St. Germain-en-Laye, 1919, was not held at the due date in 1930 and no meeting has been held subsequently.

asked the Prime Minister whether he has received any information from the Egyptian Government as to the opening of talks between the Egyptian and Italian Governments; and whether he is satisfied that no British interests are involved in the matters to be discussed?

I presume the hon. and gallant Member has in mind the talks likely to be held in the near future between the Italian and Egyptian Governments in connection with the negotiations which it is hoped may shortly be held in Rome with a view to the adjustment, in accordance with the terms of the agreement of 16th April, 1938, of the frontier between the Sudan and Italian East Africa. In these negotiations, which would precede the actual demarcation and delimitation of the frontier, His Majesty's Government, as one of the parties to the condominium, will of course be represented equally with the Egyptian Government.

asked the Minister of Health what plans he has made in respect of the utilisation or evacuation of boys and girls between the ages of 14 and 18 who are in employment; whether he has given any guidance to managers of boys' and girls' clubs on the issue; and, if not, will he give the matter his immediate attention?

The Government plans for the evacuation of school children are based on the evacuation of school units. The question whether the evacuation of further classes of persons will be possible cannot be considered until the survey of the available accommodation is completed. I am not sure what the hon. Member has in mind in the reference to utilisation and perhaps he will have a word with me on this point.

asked the Prime Minister whether the British guarantee for the integrity of Czecho-Slovakia continues several or whether it has now become joint?

Pending the outcome of the discussions now in progress with the other Powers concerned, I regret that I am unable to make any further statement on this subject.

asked the Minister of Health whether he will give the expenditure on different forms of benefit under the National Health Insurance Acts, such as sickness benefit and medical benefit, for the last complete available year?

The expenditure in Great Britain on the several benefits under the National Health Insurance Act during the year 1937 was approximately as follows:

asked the Minister of Health whether he has details of any census carried out by local authorities, other than the London County Council, showing the number of men in receipt of public assistance who are also in receipt of pension for war disablement?

The only authority which, so far as I am aware, has undertaken a similar investigation to that carried out by the London County Council is the Birmingham City Council. They found that of 7,370 out-relief cases chargeable during a week in 1938, 56 were persons possessing wounds or disability pensions.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he is prepared to provide a statement as to the cost of public assistance to old age pensionersin the respective public assistance areas in Scotland on similar lines to that promised for England and Wales by the Minister of Health?

Yes, Sir. I have asked the Department of Health to call for a return from Scottish public assistance authorities, and I shall be prepared to circulate the information so obtained in the OFFICIAL REPORT.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he has observed that the number of persons in receipt of ordinary outdoor poor relief in Greenock increased from 1,469 as at 31st January, 1938, to 1,801 as at 31st January, 1939, while their dependents increased from 1,944 to 2,110 during the same period, giving a total increase of 498 persons as compared with a year ago; and if he has any statement to make on the subject?

Yes, Sir. The local authority inform me that a, substantial part of the increase is accounted for by the fact that persons over 65 years of age who are still capable of work are now classified with the ordinary poor, instead of, as formerly, with the able-bodied poor whose numbers including dependants decreased by 231 between the same dates. I understand also that there has been some increase in sickness this winter.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many old age pensioners in Greenock were in receipt of public assistance at the last available date, and at the corresponding date a year ago, respectively?

The number of old age pensioners in Greenock who were in receipt of public assistance at 15th November, 1938, the latest date for which information is available, was 816. The number at the corresponding date in the previous year was 764.