2. Miss WARDasked the Minister of Labour whether he can give the estimated cost to local authorities of public assistance, from 1st October to 3rd March; to those persons who will come under Part II of the Unemployment Insurance Act on the appointed day?
Mr. STANLEYI am informed by my right hon. Friends the Minister of Health and the Secretary of State for Scotland that an investigation of current public assistance expenditure is being carried out with the co-operation of the local authorities in order to determine the charge falling on the local authorities in respect of the standard year, but that it will be some considerable time before the investigation is completed, and that for the present no figure of the kind desired by my hon. Friend can be given.