§ 57. Mr. STEPHENasked the Minister of Labour the number of engineers experienced in making machinery for use in sugar beet factories who are unemployed in this country at the present time?
§ Sir A. STEEL-MAITLANDI regret that the information required is not available.
§ Mr. STEPHENIs the Minister aware that a great deal of this kind of 2522 machinery has been imported into this country, and that there is a large number of engineers in this country who are unemployed?
§ Captain BRASSIs it not the case that the large amount of unemployment in the engineering industry is due to the artificial stimulation of that particular industry in other countries during the War?
§ Mr. BUCHANANIn view of the Prime Minister's statement the other day, that one of the solutions of the unemployment problem was the buying of British goods by the people of this country, will the right hon. Gentleman state if it is not a fact that the Government granted a subsidy to the sugar beet industry, and then imported from abroad machinery that could have been made here?
§ Mr. SPEAKERI think that that lies in the Department of the Minister of Agriculture.
§ Mr. BUCHANANMy point is this, that this sugar beet subsidy was granted for the purpose of helping to solve the problem of unemployment, and, if a Department goes abroad, it immediately affects the figures of the Ministry of Labour and unemployment insurance, and, surely, the Minister of Labour has some ground for intervening on a matter which affects employment in that way?
§ Sir A. STEEL-MAITLANDI am perfectly ready to answer the hon. Member's question. This point has been explained again and again. All that happens in a. case like this is that there are certain specified forms of particular kinds of machinery which, in the circumstances, it is better to import—not the general run. I can assure the hon. Member that, if he will take the line of supporting the purchase of British goods, he will be doing good work.
§ Mr. MAXTONWhat is the insuperable difficulty in the way of the Minister of Labour informing the House as to the number of engineers normally engaged in this particular branch of the industry, which is carried on by only two or three firms in well-known areas? What is the insuperable difficulty in his Department finding how many of these men are presently unemployed?
§ Sir A. STEEL-MAITLANDIt is perfectly impossible to isolate a particular kind of machinery and say that, because of a particular order, the result is precisely so much. The hon. Member will find that that is the case as soon as he comes to deal with statistics, if he wants anything that is absolutely fair and accurate. It is impossible to do it in a case of this kind.