§ 13. Mr. MANDERasked the Minister of Labour the number of cases and the names of the authorities where no training is being given in connection with unemployment benefit to persons under the age of 18?
§ Miss BONDFIELDThere are at the present time 53 local education authorities for higher education in England and Wales, and 21 education authorities in Scotland in whose areas there are no courses of instruction hitherto recognised under Section 15 of the Unemployment Insurance Act, 1930. In many of these areas the numbers of boys and girls un- 334 employed are negligible. In the middle of December there were 25,784 wholly unemployed boys and girls claiming benefit. At the same date there were 14,232 boys and girls attending approved courses of instruction as a condition for the receipt of benefit; a small but unknown proportion of these were only temporarily stopped from the service of their employers.
§ Mr. MANDERWhat steps are being taken to see that courses are held in all the other areas?
§ Miss BONDFIELDI am enlisting the help of Members of Parliament in regard to the laggard local authorities, but in all the cases to which I have referred they are in areas where the number of unemployed is negligible.
§ Mr. MANDERCan the names of those authorities be published?
§ Miss BONDFIELDI think that would he unfortunate because they are still being pressed.
§ Lieut.-Colonel HENEAGEIs the right hon. Lady aware that a good many people think that it is not the local authorities but the Government who are to blame?