§ 14. Mr. RAMSBOTHAMasked the Minister of Labour whether she is in a position to state the amount of unemployment relief or benefit, expressed in sterling, in France and Germany, payable weekly, to an unemployed man with a wife and three children; and whether there is any limitation in either country upon the total amount payable to any one family?
§ Miss BONDFIELDAs the reply is long and contains two tables of figures, I propose to circulate it in the OFFICIAL REPORT.
§ Following is the reply:
§ In France, unemployment insurance is voluntary. I have no information as to the precise rates of benefit, which, I understand, vary according to the rules of the individual unemployment insurance fund. In the Department of the Seine, rates of unemployment relief (as distinct from contributory benefit) have, I understand, been fixed as shown in the following table. I do not know whether these rates are paid in respect of six or seven days in the week, of what is the maximum amount payable as relief. Particulars of the rates of unemployment relief paid in other parts of France are not in my possession.
§ marks a week to Wage Class XI for wages over 60 Reichsmarks a week. The highest weekly rate of ordinary benefit, payable is 37.80 Reichsmarks, or 37s. for an unemployed person (man or woman) in Wage Class XI with five or more dependants. The highest weekly rate of emergency (or crisis) benefit payable is 2253 24.38 Reichsmarks, or 23s. 10½d. for unemployed persona in Wage Classes IX to XI with five or more dependants. The weekly rates of ordinary and emergency
| Wage Class. | Range of weekly wages. | Weekly rates of benefit for a man, wife and three children. | |||||
| Ordinary benefit. | Emergency benefit.* | ||||||
| Rm. | Rm. | s. | d.† | Rm. | s. | d.† | |
| VI | 30.01–36.00 | 19.80 | 19 | 4½ | 16.20 | 15 | 10¼ |
| 36.01–42.00 | 22.43 | 21 | 11½ | 19.80 | 19 | 4½ | |
| VIII | 42.01–48.00 | 24.75 | 24 | 2¾ | |||
| IX | 48.01–54.00 | 28.05 | 27 | 5½ | 22.43 | 21 | 11½ |
| X | 54.01–60.00 | 31.35 | 30 | 8¼ | |||
| XI | 60.01 upwards | 34.05 | 33 | 11 | |||
| * Emergency (or crisis) benefit in Germany is benefit paid, in Communes with more than 10,000 inhabitants, to unemployed persons who have exhausted their claim to 26 weeks' ordinary benefit. Emergency benefit is paid, subject to a means test, for 32 weeks, which may be extended to 45 weeks in the case of persons over 40 years of age. | |||||||
| † Converted at the rate of 20.43 Reichsmarks to the pound sterling. |