§ 39. Mr. BROADasked the Minister of Labour the totals of insured men on the books of the Enfield and Tottenham Employment Exchanges on 1st January of this year or the nearest available date; what were the totals of men registered as unemployed at those Exchanges at the same date; and are the managers at these Exchanges still under instructions to 399 endeavour to secure employment for men from other areas whilst local unemployed workers are available?
§ Sir A. STEEL-MAITLANDThe nearest date to 31st December for which the figures asked for are available is 17th December. At that date there were 3,862 men aged 18 and over on the registers of the Enfield and Tottenham Employment Exchanges, including 3,635 men insured under the Unemployment Insurance Acts. That is between 7 and 8 per cent. In reply to the last part, all Exchanges attempt to place as many local men as possible in employment, but I should not feel justified in excluding these areas from the transference scheme, although the number of men it is possible to bring in is not large.
§ Mr. BROADMay I ask what percentages of unemployed unskilled workmen are included in these totals?
§ Sir A. STEEL-MAITLANDIt all depends on the nature of the district and whether the employment is temporary or continuing. I cannot give a cut-and-dried answer in a case like that.
§ Mr. KIRKWOODDoes the right hon. Gentleman mean that he is transferring men into districts which are already carrying more people than they are able to employ?
§ Sir A. STEEL-MAITLANDIf anyone studies the actual facts of the case, it will be found that it does not follow that all the people, if there are more out of work in any district, are suitable for the particular kind of work for which the transferee may be brought in. I have to consider all these things, and I always take into account the degree of unemployment in a district.