§ 10. Major HARVEYasked the Lord Privy Seal what arrangements he is making to ensure the employment of a proportion of ex-service men in all Government-assisted schemes; and what is that proportion?
Mr. THOMASIt is a general instruction to Employment Exchanges to give preference, other things being equal, to ex-service men when submitting men for employment. In particular, it is a condition for the receipt of assistance from the Unemployment Grants Committee that normally 75 per cent. of the men employed on relief works shall be ex-service men.
§ Major HARVEYDoes the right hon. Gentleman find any difficulty in maintaining the 75 per cent. of ex-service men in view of the fact that there is a certain amount of transference of miners and others from necessitous areas?
Mr. THOMASThere is this difficulty. Certain ex-service men's organisations made representations to us that it is difficult sometimes to apply a fixed percentage, and we have laid down a general principle and told them that they must have a certain elasticity in giving effect to it.