HC Deb 28 February 1912 vol 34 cc1371-2
Mr. TOUCHE

asked how many men have been placed in agricultural or other rural industries in the last two years as the result of training at Hollesley Bay; and if the absence of a scheme of co-operative small holdings in the neighbourhood of the colony has hindered the success of the experiment, or to what is the small progress to be attributed?

Mr. BURNS

I understand from a communication which I have received from the Central (Unemployed) Body that of the men employed at the Hollesley Bay Colony in the last two years one man has been migrated to the Isle of Wight to take up work as a slater, one has been migrated to Cornwall to take up work as a drain-layer, while a third has taken up work as a miner in South Wales. The cause of the difficulty of finding work on the land for the men employed at the colony is, as the hon. Member is no doubt aware, a matter on which there is considerable diversity of opinion.

Sir C. KINLOCH-COOKE

Is it not within the right hon. Gentleman's recollection that one was sent to a farmer in Cornwall, and that the unemployment body was asked to take him back in a week.

Mr. BURNS

That may be, but my memory does not charge me.

Mr. TOUCHE

asked the cost per head per week of supporting the men employed at Hollesley Bay and their families as compared with what would have been the approximate cost of these persons if dealt with by the Poor Law authorities; and can he state the result?

Mr. BURNS

I have on several occasions given the average cost per head per man of maintenance at the Hollesley Bay Colony, but I do not think a useful comparison can be made between the actual cost of maintenance there and the cost of relief by the Poor Law authorities. Much would depend on the size of the family, the character of the relief, and the particular Poor Law area in which it was given.