§ Mr. RHYS DAVIESasked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Education whether his attention has been called to the memorandum prepared by the health section of the League of Nations on economic depression and public health and to their inquiry into the effects of the crisis on public health; and whether he will institute a comprehensive inquiry on these lines in Great Britain in respect of children of school age, with a view to the publication of the results as soon as may be for the guidance of His Majesty's Government and the information of the health committee of the League?
§ Mr. RAMSBOTHAM:My Noble Friend is aware of the memorandum and inquiry in question. The effect of the economic depression on the health of school children is being carefully watched by the Board and the local education authorities, as part of the ordinary work of the school medical service, and special measures to safeguard the health of the children are being taken in the areas where the depression is most acute. As stated in the latest Annual Report of the Board's Chief Medical Officer, the depressed state of industry does not appear to have exerted any measurable physical ill-effect upon the child population. In these circumstances my Noble Friend does not think it necessary to institute a comprehensive inquiry on the lines suggested.