§ 61. Mr. R. YOUNGasked the Minister of Labour how many trade union branches hold their regular branch meetings in Employment Exchange offices; whether any and, if so, what rent is charged for the holding of such meetings; and whether any applications to hold such meetings have been refused and, if so, for what reasons?
§ Sir A. STEEL-MAITLANDThis matter is dealt with locally, as a rule, under General Rules, of which I am sending the hon. Member a copy, and I regret, therefore, the information asked for in the first and last parts of the question could not be given without special inquiry. I may say, however, that a considerable number of branch meetings are held on Exchange premises, and, in what I believe are the rare cases in which permission to hold a meeting is refused, accommodation being available, the reason is one of those set out in paragraph 5 of the General Rules. The ordinary charge per meeting is 2s. 6d. or 1s., according to the nature of the accommodation available.