§ MR. TENNANT (Berwickshire)I beg to ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department in how many and what cases by-laws prohibiting street 561 trading by girls under sixteen have been proposed to his Department; in how many and what cases have these bylaws been sanctioned; in how many and what cases has such sanction been accompanied by conditions; and can he lay upon the Table a Paper setting forth this information, accompanied by the conditions which he has imposed.
§ MR. AKERS-DOUGLASUp to the present time thirty-four local authorities have drafted by-laws under the Employment of Children Act prohibiting street trading by girls under sixteen years of age. In fifteen of these cases the bylaws have been formally confirmed, and in six more they have been provisionally approved. The only modifications suggested by the Home Office have been the addition of a proviso exempting girls trading in the company of a parent, or in the company of a parent or guardian, from the operation of the by-law; and in one case, where the circumstances were exceptional, of a proviso exempting girls between the ages of fourteen and sixteen who were already engaged in street trading at the time of the confirmation of the by-law. In the circumstances I do not think that any advantage would be gained by paying a Paper on the Table, as suggested by the hon. Member; but I shall be happy to furnish him, if he wishes, with particulars of the individual cases.