§ 55. Sir W. SUGDENasked the Minister of Labour if he will give the costs per person, during the years 1922, 1923, and 1924, of placing in employment applicants by the Employment Exchanges of the country; and the numbers of both men and women and youths of both sexes so placed during the period mentioned, the costs to include all the establishment charges, buildings, etc., of the Employment Exchanges, allowing and stating the 796 percentage costs of such allowance of other duties which they perform?
§ Mr. BETTERTONI am afraid that it is not practicable to allocate administrative cost to one item in administration in this manner. The numbers of vacancies filled during the financial years 1922–23, 1923–24, 1924–25 were 678,999, 932,844 and 1,073,250 respectively. The total cost of the Employment Exchange service during the same periods, including all establishment charges, buildings, etc., of Employ- 797 ment Exchanges, and cost of all services rendered by other Government Departments, was £4,853,492, £4,155,238 and £4,498,343; but about 95 per cent. of this cost was allocated as the cost of administering unemployment insurance and charged against the Unemployment Fund, leaving sums of £168,004, £137,067 and £170,990 not so allocated, and representing all services of the Exchanges other than administration of unemployment insurance.
§ Sir W. SUGDENMay I ask my hon. Friend if he will institute further suggestive inquiries to improve the mechanism of the Employment Exchanges which have not progressed in regard to the work they are supposed to do, viz., first to place men and women in employment for the last 10 years; and secondly, will he also—
§ Mr. SPEAKERThe hon. Member should give notice of an elaborate question of that kind.