§ 15 and 16. Mr. ANEURIN WILLIAMSasked the Minister of Labour (1) whether his attention has been called to the case of Mrs. Annie King, of 25, Church Street, Stanley, county Durham, about which the hon. Member for the Consett Division wrote to the Minister of Labour, Montagu House, Whitehall, S.W., on the 28th March; whether Mrs. King was employed 1567 at the Birtley munition works until they stopped, was discharged on 18th December, 1918, and received out-of-work pay to 29th February; whether she was then offered domestic service; whether, having two children, she was unable to leave home and go into domestic service; whether the assessors nevertheless dismissed her appeal; whether she has been refused all further out-of-work benefit; whether there is any appeal beyond the Court of Referee in such cases;
(2) whether the case of Mrs. E. A. Urwin, of 17, Meldon Terrace, New Kyo, Ann field Plain, county Durham, about which the hon. Member for the Consett Division wrote to the Ministry of Labour, Montagu House, Whitehall, S.W. 1, on the 28th March, has had his attention; whether Mrs. Urwin is a married woman with a husband who is practically an invalid; whether she is about forty years of age, and obliged to stay at home to look after her husband; whether she has, nevertheless, been refused out-of-work donation on the ground that she wil not accept domestic service; and whether it is the policy of the Ministry of Labour to compel married women with husbands or children dependent upon them to go into domestic service under conditions which prevent them attending to their homes or else forfeit the unemployment donation to which they are otherwise entitled?
§ Mr. WARDLEThe facts are substantially as stated. In both cases the claim to donation was referred to a Court of Referees, who unanimously decided that reasonable offers of work had been refused, and disallowed the claims accordingly. Leave to appeal to the umpire was not given, and the decisions of the Court are consequently final.
§ Mr. WILLIAMSIs there any means of contesting this proposition that married women are to be forced away from their homes into domestic service?
§ Mr. WARDLEI am not sure that that necessarily follows.
§ Mr. WILLIAMSThat is the objection to the service offered them.