§ 16. Mr. BUCHANANasked the Minister of Labour the number of young persons attending centres under the Minister of Labour in Glasgow for educational purposes; the number for the same period last year; and the numbers of boys and girls?
§ Mr. BETTERTONThe average daily attendance at Juvenile Unemployment Centres in Glasgow during the week which ended on 1st July was 1,116 (boys 655 and girls 461), as compared with an attendance of 1,846 (boys 1,124 and girls 722) during the week which ended on 2nd July, 1926.
§ Mr. STEPHENWhat is the reason for the big decrease in the number?
§ Mr. BETTERTONIt is to some extent attributable to the depression in trade which followed the general strike of last year.
§ Mr. BUCHANANIs it not a fact that curtailments have taken place in the facilities offered to the young people owing to financial reasons, and while this is due partly to the depression in trade, is it not also partly due to the curtailment in spending power?
§ Mr. BETTERTONI am not quite sure whether the curtailment to which my hon. Friend refers applies to Glasgow, but, as he knows, it depends on the amount of unemployment. Whether and to what extent that applies in Glasgow, I cannot say without notice.
§ Mr. BUCHANANIs it not a fact that they are much more stringent in applying the regulations, and can he not see that in places like Glasgow where trade depression is still very prevalent these young people get opportunities for training.
§ Mr. BETTERTONYes, Sir. It is the policy of my right hon. Friend that these centres should continue subject to the financial necessities of the situation, and so far as it is possible these facilities are provided as heretofore.
§ Mr. KIRKWOODWill the Minister use his influence in order to give greater encouragement instead of having these young men and women wandering about the streets with nothing to do? Here is a place where they can go and get instruction instead of living a life with nothing in front of them but idleness. We want them to go to school and get the benefit of these institutions.
§ 17. Mr. C. EDWARDSasked the Minister of Labour the number of boys between the ages of 14 and 18 who are unemployed; and the total number of both sexes unemployed between those ages?
§ Mr. BETTERTONAt 27th June, 1927, there were on the registers of Employment Exchanges and Juvenile Employment Bureaux in Great Britain 26,234 boys and 25,111 girls between the ages of 14 and 18 years. The number of unemployed boys and girls who were not on the registers is not known.
§ Mr. MARDY JONESMay I ask the Parliamentary Secretary whether his Department is doing anything to provide juvenile centres for these boys and girls, and does he not realise that to keep them occupied and off the streets and out of mischief the provision of such centres is highly necessary? Does he not realise that it is very demoralising that the present generation in such large numbers should be kept in this position while the Government make no attempt to meet the difficulty?
§ Mr. BETTERTONYes, my right hon. Friend is fully alive to the value of these centres, and so far as it is possible he is anxious that these centres should continue.
§ Mr. COVEMay I ask if the Government have come to any definite decision upon the Reports of the two important committees which have been issued in relation to this problem?
§ Mr. SPEAKERThat is hardly a question for the Minister.
§ Mr. COVEThose Reports deal specifically with this question, and they have made definite recommendations in regard to juvenile unemployment.
§ Mr. SPEAKERThat is a matter of policy which cannot be answered by a junior Minister without notice.