§ 18. Mr. SPOORasked the Minister of Labour if he is aware of the amount of 390 distress in the district of Bishop Auckland, county Durham; whether he is aware that numbers of collieries are closing down and that men are being removed from the unemployment register without adequate reason and being compelled to apply to the board of guardians for relief; and whether he will cause an inquiry to be made with a view to having this district regarded as a necessitous area?
§ The PARLIAMENTARY SECRETARY to the MINISTRY of LABOUR (Mr. Betterton)As stated by my right hon. Friend the Secretary for Mines on Thursday last, in reply to a question by the hon. Member for Houghton-le-Spring (Mr. R. Richardson) regarding milling areas generally, His Majesty's Government are aware of the present conditions in the mining industry, and are giving the matter their special consideration. I am unable to agree with the allegation that men are being removed from the register without adequate reason.
§ Mr. SPOORIs the hon. Member aware that large numbers of men who are thrown out of work as a result of these conditions are men with an experience of 30 and 40 years or more in mining, and that there is not the slightest doubt of their being reinstated under present conditions. To talk of alternative employment for such men is altogether absurd, if not really a fraud.