§ 48. Mr. WALTER GUINNESSasked the President of the Board of Trade whether he is aware that certain employers who applied before 14th August, 1913, for a refund of one-third of their contributions to the Unemployment Fund in respect of payments for workmen continuously employed, under Section 94 of the National Insurance Act, 1911, have as yet not been paid; whether he can state the reason of such delay, and whether it applies to all such claims; and how soon the matter will be settled?
§ The PRESIDENT of the BOARD of TRADE (Mr. Burns)The first payments in respect of applications under Section 94 were made on the 16th October last, and up to the 7th February last the total number of applications dealt with was 23,840. The total number of applications made as required by the Section was just over 26,000, and as regards the balance of between 2,000 and 3,000 not yet dealt with there has, in the majority of cases, been delay on the part of employers in supplying further particulars required for the purpose of checking the application. The checking of these applications entails a very large volume of work and raises a number of questions of considerable difficulty, particularly in view of the fact that this is the first year for which the Section has been in operation. I fear that the administrative difficulties and consequent delays involved in carrying out this Section cannot be wholly avoided without legislation, and the Board of Trade are now considering the possibility of proposing an amendment for the purpose.