§ 17. Sir H. BRITTAINasked the President of the Board of Education whether he can make any statement as to the progress of the organisations responsible for the relief of distress in the mining areas?
§ Lord E. PERCYI must apologise for the length of this answer. Divisional committees have been formed to control the operations of the Lord Mayor's Fund in the following coalfields: South Wales, Durham and Northumberland, Lancashire, Cumberland, West Riding, Somerset and Gloucestershire, including the Forest of Dean, Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire. Under the divisional committees local committees have been, or are now being, constituted as required on a basis fully representative of all interests, including the voluntary agencies, for the purpose of obtaining information, preventing overlapping, and securing fair and efficient distribution. The intention is to incorporate as far as possible any existing distress committees into the local committees of the 309 Lord Mayor's Fund, and to restrict the areas covered by those committees so as to ensure that their members can come into personal touch with those who will benefit from the fund. In areas where the density of distress is not such as to justify the creation of a local committee it is proposed that the divisional committees should enlist the aid of the local education and public health authorities concerned. As regards the central organisation in London, I would refer my hon. Friend to the Lord Mayor's speech at the Mansion House on the 16th of this month, of which, I am sending him a copy.
§ Colonel WEDGWOODIs this list of committees complete, or is there a chance of any additions being made to it? In particular, is there a chance that North Stafford, where distress is extremely great in the coalfields, will have its own committee?
§ Lord E. PERCYYes. The list does not pretend to be exhaustive. I gather that the arrangements to be made in the remaining areas will be considered by the committee of the fund on Friday.