§ 20. Mr. HORE-BELISHAasked the Minister of Labour if any cases have been brought to his notice of men having been discharged in certain districts and their places taken at reduced rates of pay by miners transferred from distressed areas; and will he inquire into this question?
§ Mr. BETTERTONThe answer to the first part of the question is in the negative, and I do not think a general inquiry on the lines suggested by the hon. Member is practicable. If the hon. Member has any particular case in mind, I shall be glad to inquire into it.
§ Mr. HORE-BELISHAIs it not obvious that if 60 or 70 miners have been sent to Devonport and Plymouth and have been found work there, when there have been 5,000 or 6,000 unemployed there for many years, they must have taken jobs for which those unemployed were waiting?
§ Mr. BETTERTONYes, but that is not the question the hon. Member asked. He asked whether their places had been taken at reduced rates of pay by miners from distressed areas.