§ 38. Mr. SUTCLIFFEasked the Minister of Labour if he is aware that numbers of operatives in the Milnrow and Rochdale area who went to sign on at the Employment Exchange on Tuesday, 24th May, after the Whitsuntide holiday, were informed that the Exchange had been open on the previous day, which resulted in a new qualifying period being in many cases necessary; and whether, in view of the fact that no public notification of such opening had been given, he will cause an investigation to be made?
§ The PARLIAMENTARY SECRETARY to the MINISTRY of LABOUR (Mr. R. S. Hudson)The facts are as stated in the first part of my hon. Friend's question. The practice followed that of previous years. Posters instructing applicants for benefit to attend on Monday, 23rd May, were prominently displayed in the waiting rooms and windows of the Exchange for some time previously, and were acted upon by large numbers of claimants. The Court of Referees decided that there was no reasonable excuse for the failure to attend on 23rd May, and therefore refused to ante-date the claims in question.