§ MR. LANE-FOX (Yorkshire, W.R., Barkston Ash)I beg to ask the President of the Local Government Board if he will state on what authority he has based his estimate that £20,000 has been collected in Leeds among private citizens for the relief of the unemployed.
§ MR. JOHN BURNSIt was reported in the Press that the Lord Mayor had received over £18,000 a fortnight ago. I am making some further inquiry as to the exact facts.
§ MR. O'GRADY (Leeds, E.)I beg to ask the President of the Local Government Board whether he is aware that it is impossible to compress the work for the unemployed in Leeds involved in the expenditure of £120,000 into the slack months of 1908–9; that the city authorities estimate out of the total sum £20,000 will be spent in wages; that the sum collected from the citizens to be distributed in relief of necessitous cases and not on public works is £3,000; that the corporation refused to vote the Lord Mayor £10,000 for minor works; if so, whether, in view of the efforts made by the Leeds Corporation and the citizens to deal with the relief of the unemployed in the locality, he can determine the amount of the subvention likely to be granted to the local authorities from the central fund.
§ MR. JOHN BURNSI am aware of the facts connected with the efforts which are being made at Leeds to provide work upon which the unemployed will be engaged. I cannot say precisely how long the works referred to will take to complete, but I learn with satisfaction that some of them have already been commenced, and that others will be very shortly. I have already paid £1,400 to the Leeds Distress Committee out of the grant. This is a larger sum than they received during the whole of last season. As the winter proceeds I shall probably make further payments to them, but I cannot say beforehand what the amount will be. This must necessarily depend upon the circumstances.