HC Deb 25 February 1937 vol 320 cc2156-8
5. Mr. Guy

asked the Minister of Labour the number of increased and reduced assessments under the new Unemployment Assistance Regulations for Edinburgh, including Portobello and Leith, respectively, at the latest convenient date?

4. Mr. Errington

asked the Minister of Labour the number of cases in the city of Liverpool and the borough of Bootle, respectively, in which there have been increases in the present amount of unemployment assistance over the amount formerly paid under the standstill arrangement; and the number of cases in which there have been decreases in Liverpool and Bootle?

7. Mr. Kirby

asked the Minister of Labour the total number of cases in Liverpool that have received increases and the number subjected to decreases under the new unemployment assistance regulations?

8. Mr. Anstruther-Gray

asked the Minister of Labour the total number of cases in Lanarkshire that have received increases and the number receiving decreases under the new unemployment assistance regulations?

9. Lieut.-Colonel Charles Kerr

asked the Minister of Labour how many increases and decreases, respectively, have been made under the Unemployment Assistance Regulations as compared with the standstill order in the Montrose area?

13. Mr. Graham White

asked the Minister of Labour for each regional area of the Unemployment Assistance Board, the number of increased assessments and the number of decreased assessments, including nil determinations, which have been made since 16th November, 1930?

15. Mr. Roland Robinson

asked the Minister of Labour the number of increases and decreases to date resulting from the introduction of the new Unemployment Assistance Regulations in Blackpool and Lytham St. Annes?

Mr. E. Brown

As the answer to these questions involves a number of figures, I will, with permission, circulate a statement in the OFFICIAL REPORT.

Mr. Guy

May I ask whether the figures as to the increases indicate that the effect of the regulations has been quite satisfactory?

Mr. Brown

The total number of increases in Great Britain is 230,000, and there have been 794 reductions.

Mr. White

Will the statement that the right hon. Gentleman proposes to publish show the figures on a regional basis?

Mr. Brown

That is so. There is a sub-table showing the figures for London and South England, North-East England, North-West England, Wales and Scotland.

Mr. Lawson

Will the right hon. Gentleman inform Conservative Headquarters that they are just a little too previous with their questions on these matters?

Mr. Brown

The figures show the increases that have taken place.

Following is the statement:

The table below shows in column (1) the localities in respect of which information is desired, in column (2) the approximate number of persons in the Unemployment Assistance Board's administrative areas covering those localities whose assessments in December last, when all cases had been reviewed under the new Regulations, were greater than they would have been under the Standstill arrangements; and in column (3) the number of persons whose assessments, at the latest dates for which information is available, had been reduced as compared with Standstill practice. The grounds of the reductions were

  1. (a) substantial resources of members of the household or
    2. 2158
  2. (b) substantial earnings of the applicant himself.

New cases have been omitted from the first category because the persons concerned were not previously in receipt of any allowance and so did not suffer any reduction. New cases, if any, have been included in the second category because they cannot without undue labour be identified.

Locality. Increases. Reductions.
Column (1). Column (2)*. Column (3).
Blackpool† 1,300 —
Bootle, Borough of 1,900 12
Edinburgh‡ 1,350 —
Lanarkshire 12,800 4
Leith‡ 1,100 —
Liverpool, City of. 9,850 52
Montrose§ 350 —
Unemployment Assistance Board's Administrative Regions.
London and South England. 37,300 136
North-East England 55,300 118
North-West England 58,800 128
Wales 50,100 380
Scotland 28,500 32
Total: Great Britain 230,000 794
* The areas in respect of which particulars are given in columns (2) and (3) are administrative areas of the Board and are not co-terminus with Local Authority areas of the same name.
† Lytham St. Annes is included in the Board's Blackpool area.
‡ Portobello is included in the Board's Leith area which also includes Haddington.
§ Particulars relate to the Board's Arbroath outstation area which includes Montrose.