HC Deb 23 February 1921 vol 138 cc1097-100

Considered in Committee.

[Sir E. CORNWALL in the Chair.]

Motion made, and Question proposed: That for the purposes of any Act of the present Session relating to insurance against unemployment it is expedient—

  1. 1. To authorise the payment, out of moneys provided by Parliament, of—
    1. (a) a contribution towards unemployment benefit and any other payment to be made out of the unemployment fund not exceeding one quarter of the aggregate amount of the contributions which would be received from employers and employed persons in any year if those contributions were at the rate in the case of men of elevenpence and in the case of women of ninepence per week;
    2. (b) the sums necessary for defraying the cost of providing an additional benefit at the weekly rate of two shillings for such persons formerly engaged in War service as are in receipt of unemployment benefit at any time between the commencement of the said Act and the second day of July, nineteen hundred and twenty-two;
    3. (c) the sums necessary to enable seamen, marines, soldiers, and airmen discharged after the second day of July, nineteen hundred and twenty-two, to be credited, under Section forty-one of the Unemployment Insurance Act, 1920, with one hundred and fifty-six contributions instead of with ninety contributions;
  2. 2. To authorise the Treasury to make, for the purpose of discharging the liabilities of the Unemployment Fund under the Unemployment Insurance Act, 1920, as amended by the said Act, advances out of the Consolidated Fund not exceeding at any time £10,000,000, and to borrow money for such advances by the issue of such securities as the Treasury think proper, the principal of and interest on any such securities to be charged on and payable out of the Consolidated Fund.—[Dr. Macnamara]

Mr. TREVELYAN THOMSON

I beg to move, in paragraph (a,) to leave out the words "in the case of men."

The purpose is to equalise the contributions and the benefit for men and women. Last year, on a similar Bill, it was urged that it was impossible for this Committee to deal with equalisation of men and women because of the Financial Resolution, which had passed in Committee. The right hon. Gentleman did not give any indication of agreement or otherwise on this point at the former stage, and I take this opportunity of putting the matter before him. We have heard a great deal about differentiation. My point is that there should be no differentiation between the benefit paid to men and to women. It is a question of a subsistence grant, and my suggestion is that 15s. a week is entirely inadequate as a subsistence grant for any woman, even if she has not a family. I move the omission of these words in order to equalise the payment to men and women. Reference was made to the Health Insurance Act, but there the risk is the personal risk of sickness. In this case the risk insured against is a trade risk of unemployment, and the unemployment does not vary as to whether it happens to be a man or a woman out of work, but is due to the exigencies of trade, which are quite independent of matters of sex. If a person is unemployed it is just as serious to him whether he is a man or a woman.

Question: "That the words proposed to be left out stand part of the Question," put, and agreed to.

Main Question put, and agreed to.

Resolved, That for the purposes of any Act of the present Session relating to insurance against unemployment it is expedient—

  1. 1. To authorise the payment, out of moneys provided by Parliament, of—
    1. (a) a contribution towards unemployment benefit and any other payment to be made out of the unemployment fund not exceeding one quarter of the aggregate amount of the contributions which would be received from employers and employed persons in any year if those contributions were at the rate in the case of men of elevenpence and in the case of women of ninepence per week;
    2. (b) the sums necessary for defraying the cost of providing an additional benefit at the weekly rate of two shillings for such persons formerly engaged in War service as are in receipt of unemployment benefit at any time between the commence- 1099 ment of the said Act and the second day of July, nineteen hundred and twenty-two;
    3. (c) the sums necessary to enable seamen, marines, soldiers, and airmen discharged after the second day of July, nineteen hundred and twenty-two, to be credited, under Section forty-one of the Unemployment Insurance Act, 1920, with one hundred and fifty-six contributions instead of with ninety contributions;
  2. 2. To authorise the Treasury to make, for the purpose of discharging the liabilities of the Unemployment Fund under the Unemployment Insurance Act, 1920, as amended by the said Act, advances out of the Consolidated Fund not exceeding at any time £10,000,000, and to borrow money for such advances by the issue of such securi- 1100 ties as the Treasury think proper, the principal of and interest on any such securities to be charged on and payable out of the Consolidated Fund.

Resolution to be reported To-morrow (Thursday).

The remaining Government Orders were read, and postponed.

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