§ 34. Mr. HALL-CAINEasked the Lord Privy Seal what is the cause of the delay in respect of the schemes submitted by the Liverpool Council in providing work for the unemployed; and whether such schemes comply with the regulations laid down for grant by the Unemployment Grants Committee?
Mr. THOMASSuch delay as has occurred has been due to the methods adopted by the Liverpool Corporation in submitting applications. Many of them did not comply with the conditions for grant. Of 37 schemes received since the end of October, 15 have had to be rejected on this ground, one has been withdrawn, four have been approved for grant, and 17 are under examination, of which eight, and these the largest, were only received since the 8th January.
§ Mr. HALL-CAINEMay I ask the right hon. Gentleman to urge upon the Unemployment Grants Committee to come to a quick decision when schemes have been submitted and are in order so that we can get on with the work?
Mr. THOMASI do not think the fault lies with the Unemployment Grants Committee. In this case, I went to the length of sending a special representative to Liverpool to urge them to speed up. The difficulty is on their side, not on ours.