§ 61. Mr. BUCHANANasked the Minister of Labour the number of persons now receiving benefit who are working short time; the number receiving benefit who are classified as intermittent workers; and the number receiving benefit known as seasonal workers?
§ Mr. LAWSONStatistics giving the information desired in the first two parts of this question are not available. At 19th January, 1931, the latest date for which figures are available, there were 12,461 seasonal workers on the registers of Employment Exchanges in Great Britain, but I am unable to say how many were actually in receipt of benefit.
§ Mr. BUCHANANAgain, may I ask, in view of the fact that the Government propose to deal with the first two classes of persons to-morrow in a Bill, if it is not right that we should know the number of intermittent workers affected and also the number of short-time workers receiving benefit?
§ Mr. LAWSONThe Government are just as anxious as the hon. Member to know the full facts in this matter, and I must tell him again that it is not an easy matter to disentangle these two sets of figures.
§ Mr. BUCHANANWould it not have been as well for the Government to have had these figures before they introduced their Bill?
§ Mr. LAWSONIt is not necessary to have had this information. Statements were made to the Royal Commission and specific cases were given. It was not necessary to have had these particular figures.