§ 27. Mr. THORNEasked the Minister of Labour why his Department refuses to refund the balance of the contributions, prior to 1928, paid in error to the Unemployment Insurance Fund by the employes in the baths department of the Dundee Corporation; whether he is aware that they were required to pay contributions until it was decided in 1926 that such employes were not eligible to either contribute or receive benefit; that this information was not circulated by his Department to all local authorities employing such workpeople; that these employes have been paying contributions, with the approval of his inspectors, from the date of their employment under the Dundee Corporation and, in some cases, from the inception of the Act, 1910, to March, 1934, when notice to end the contributions was given; and whether he will cause inquiries to be made as to why these contributions were not returned in full?
Mr. STANLEYThe regulations under which a refund of contributions paid in error is permitted limit such refund to contributions paid during the preceding six years. There is no trace of any requirement on the corporation to pay contributions prior to 1926, and it has always been the practice of the Department to regard the employment as uninsurable. It would obviously be quite impracticable to notify all employers of every decision regarding insurability. I should perhaps add that the earliest date for which any of these contributions were paid was in November, 1920.
§ Mr. THORNEWould the right hon. Gentleman like to know my mind about this matter?
§ Mr. McENTEEIs the right hon. Gentleman aware that in the case of other local authorities the money has been repaid, and why has it not been repaid in the case of the Dundee Corporation
Mr. STANLEYNo doubt it has. Whenever contributions are paid by mistake they are refunded, subject to the limit of six years, and in this case it has been repaid for the six years during which we were entitled to repay it.
§ Mr. McENTEEIs the right hon. Gentleman aware that no such limit has been imposed in the case of other corporations?