§ 1. Brigadier-General Clifton Brownasked the Minister of Labour what are the numbers insured in the Unemployment Insurance (Agriculture) scheme; the numbers of agricultural workers unemployed at the latest date available; and what is the financial position of this fund?
§ The Minister of Labour (Mr. Ernest Brown)Final estimates of the numbers of persons insured under the agricultural scheme of unemployment insurance at July, 1937, will not be available until next month. At 13th September, 1937, the latest date for which unemployment figures are available, there were 20,097 persons aged 14–64, insured under the agricultural scheme, recorded as unemployed in Great Britain. At 23rd October, 1937, the balance on the agricultural account of the Unemployment Fund was about £1,670,000.
§ Mr. T. WilliamsHow do these figures square with the statement so frequently made that there is a shortage of agricultural labour?
§ Mr. BrownI do not think there is any inconsistency in them. When the full figures are available the hon. Member will be able to work out the percentages, and I think he will find that they are low.