§ 73. Mr. BATEYasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer the total amount paid to the North of Ireland Unemployment Insurance Fund during the last five years; and whether it is proposed to make any reduction this year?
§ Mr. P. SNOWDENI presume that the payments to which the hon. Member refers are those made by His Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom to 524 the Exchequer of Northern Ireland under the provisions of the Unemployment Insurance (Northern Ireland Agreement) Acts, 1926 and 1929. The total amount of such payments in respect of the five years from the 1st April, 1926, to the 31st March, 1931, was £2,527,056. The method of calculation of the payments is laid down in the Agreement scheduled to the Act of 1926. The payment last year was £521,484, and while it is impossible at the present stage to give a firm estimate of the payment this year I should anticipate a reduction by at least a hall.