§ 31. Mr. STEPHENasked the Minister of Labour the number of claims for unemployment benefit of men and women, respectively, which have been refused on the not normally in insurable employment ground since the new Act came into operation to the nearest available date, and the corresponding figures for the preceding two years?
§ Miss BONDFIELDOwing to the changes made by the new Act, the numbers of disallowances under this and certain other heads, taken by themselves, are not properly comparable with those for earlier periods. I am therefore circulating in the OFFICIAL REPORT a table showing the disallowances under each head for the period 13th March to 14th April, 1930, and averages for earlier periods going back to April, 1928. I should point out that the figures under the new Act, relating as they do to the first month of its operation, cannot safely be taken to be typical of its effect over a longer period.
§ Mr. STEPHENWill the Minister, in the table which is being circulated, show definite comparisons in regard to the "not normally in insurable employment" condition, because there is nothing in the Act which has changed that condition?
§ Miss BONDFIELDThe difficulty about this matter is that a great many of these cases under the old Act were merely dismissed on the ground of "not genuinely seeking work." The actual details in each case are under consideration, and, therefore, as I have pointed out, there is really no comparison.
§ Mr. STEPHENDoes the Minister not realise that such applications previously were dismissed on the ground of "not genuinely seeking work" and that if the "not normally in insurable employment" condition is simply going to be used in place of the "not genuinely seeking work" condition which was abolished by this House, it is simply playing fast and loose with the decision of the House of Commons?
§ Miss BONDFIELDThe hon. Member has drawn an inference which has no basis in fact.
§ Mr. BUCHANANIs it not the case that the "not normally in insurable employment" condition is the same as it was in the old Act; and why then should the Minister say there cannot be a comparison of these figures?
§ Miss BONDFIELDI will try to make the position as clear as I can. A very large number of claims were disallowed before on both the "not normally in insurable employment" condition and the "not genuinely seeking work" condi-
| DISALLOWANCES OF CLAIMS TO BENEFIT. | ||||||||
| Comparative Statement, April, 1928, to April, 1930. | ||||||||
| — | Disallowances by Insurance Officers. | Disallowances by Courts of Referees (U.I. Act, 1930), 13th March, 1930, to 14th April, 1930. | ||||||
| Monthly Averages. | ||||||||
| April, 1928-March, 1929. | April, 1929-March, 1930. | |||||||
| Permanent Provisions. | ||||||||
| First statutory condition | … | … | … | 432 | 323 | 165 | ||
| Not unable to obtain suitable employment | … | 2,837 | 3,394 | — | ||||
| Failure or refusal to apply for or accept suitable employment and failure to carry out written directions. | — | — | 2,264 | |||||
| Trade disputes | … | … | … | … | … | 1,265 | 5,602 | 21 (by Ins. Officer). |
| Employment lost through misconduct | … | … | 4,227 | 4,739 | 3,534 | |||
| Employment left voluntarily without just cause | 6,142 | 8,317 | 5,804 | |||||
| Other grounds | … | … | … | … | … | 2,099 | 2,695 | 5,064* |
| Not genuinely seeking work | … | … | … | 26,343 | 20,209 | Not operative. | ||
| Transitional provisions (Sec. 14 (2) U.I. Act, 1927). | ||||||||
| Less than 8 contributions paid in previous two years or 30 contributions paid at any time. | 223 | 264 | 1,953 | |||||
| Nor normally insurable and not seeking to obtain a livelihood by means of insurable employment. | 1,622 | 9,386 | 20,030 | |||||
| Not a reasonable period of insurable employment during the preceding two years. | 11,935 | Not operative. | ||||||
| Total claims disallowed | … | … | … | … | 57,125 | 54,929 | 38,835 |