HC Deb 23 June 1938 vol 337 cc1236-40
11. Mr. Buchanan

asked the Minister of Labour whether he is aware that the present method of calculating the claim for dependants' benefit is a very complicated one and very few applicants for benefit can understand the formula; and will he take steps to have the position reviewed and simplified?

Mr. E. Brown

The provisions for the payment of dependants' benefit are necessarily complicated because of the variety of the circumstances with which they deal, and I am not sure that they could be simplified without involving the risk of withdrawal of some of the existing rights to such benefit. I shall, however, be glad to consider any particular points which the hon. Member may care to send to me.

Mr. Buchanan

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that in a large number of cases it can be quite simply stated what the applicant's rights are? Will he not consider making this a simple matter, instead of one which even his Department cannot understand?

Mr. Brown

I am always glad—and so, indeed, is the Department—to make things as simple as possible. The trouble arising here is not in regard to the law, but the complexity of the circumstances in which the law is to be applied. It is quite easy, to make a certain scheme so simple, as to deprive of benefit those whom we all wish to see entitled to benefit. The hon. Member points out that there are certain points in doubt, but I doubt whether there is need for an inquiry. As the House knows, there was an inquiry some years ago.

12. Mr. Buchanan

asked the Minister of Labour the number of cases heard by appeal committees under the Unemployment Assistance Board in Glasgow during the past 12 months, and the number in which an increased allowance was granted?

Mr. Brown

During the 12 months ended 31st May last, 2,518 appeals against determinations were adjudicated on by the three appeal tribunals which deal with cases from Glasgow City. In 236 cases the award of the tribunal resulted in an increased payment to the applicant.

13. Mr. James

Griffiths asked the Minister of Labour whether he has authorised the reimposition by the Unemployment Assistance Board of the not-genuinely-seeking-work test for applicants for unemployment assistance, as indicated on page 22 of the Report of the Board for 1937 (Cmd. 5752); and, in view of the fact that such a test was abolished by the decision of Parliament, what authority the Board has for its reimposition on applicants for allowances?

Mr. Brown

The hon. Member is under a misapprehension. The passage to which he refers relates solely to the considerations involved in adjusting assessments under the Unemployment Assistance Regulations, 1936, where the assessment would otherwise be greater than, or approximately equal to the amount normally available from earnings.

Mr. Griffiths

Will the Minister give an assurance that, even in that limited number of cases, there will be no restoration of the methods which were adopted some years ago, and which so enraged the country that they had to be stopped?

Mr. Brown

Certainly. That is why I made it clear that the question is really based on a misapprehension.

17. Mr. Batey

asked the Minister of Labour whether he is aware that on page 5 of the Unemployment Assistance Board's Report there is a statement to the effect that a considerable number of men and women are content to remain on unemployment allowance; and can he say how many of these persons have been offered work and refused it?

Mr. Brown

As indicated in the report, the persons referred to include some who have refused work. As the Board point out, the number is relatively small, but separate statistics are not available.

Mr. Batey

Does not the report say that there are a considerable number of persons who refused to work, and should not the test be to offer them a job?

Mr. Ellis Smith

Is it not unbecoming of people so well placed to make allegations of this kind?

Mr. Speaker

The hon. Member must not ask a supplementary question of that kind.

23. Mr. Sandys

asked the Minister of Labour whether, in view of the difficulties which are being experienced by the Unemployment Assistance Board and the Unemployment Insurance Committee, as revealed in their latest reports, owing to the fact that employed persons with large families are in many cases earning less or no more than they would receive if they were unemployed, he will consider the advisability of consulting with representatives of employers' and employés' organisations with a view to exploring the possibility of instituting some system of family allowances designed to bring income into closer relation with family needs?

Mr. Brown

No, Sir. I do not think that practical results would be achieved, for I have no ground for thinking that such a proposal would be likely to receive sufficient support from these organisations to justify the initiation of consultation on the lines suggested.

Mr. Sandys

Can my right hon. Friend give an assurance that he recognises that this is an urgent and vital social problem, and will give it his careful consideration?

Mr. Brown

I have no doubt of the gravity of the social problem, because more than one converging inquiry has brought facts to light, both by the Unemployment Insurance Statutory Committee and the Unemployment Assistance Board. My hon. Friend asks me to consult with representatives of industry, but I do not think that such a proposal, as far as my information goes in the industrial field, would produce a satisfactory result.

26. Mr. Short

asked the Minister of Labour whether the practice by which an applicant for unemployment assistance can be accompanied by a friend when interviewing the board's officer is operative at the Doncaster area office?

Mr. Brown

I am informed by the Board that at the Doncaster area office, as at other offices, an applicant is in ordinary circumstances free to be accompanied by a personal friend if he so desires.

27. Miss Wilkinson

asked the Minister of Labour what is the percentage of applicants in the Jarrow-Hebburn area, as compared with those in the Felling area, who are now in receipt of extra allowances under the Unemployment Assistance Board; and how many in each of these areas, respectively, have been docked of their extra allowance?

Mr. Brown

As regards the first part of the question, the cases in which the Board's officers, in the exercise of their general discretionary powers, had maintained the previous allowance or had reduced it by less than the full amount of the previous addition, represented, approximately, 6½ per cent. of current assessments in Jarrow and 4½ per cent. in Gateshead II. Separate information in respect of Felling is not available. As regards the second part, at the beginning of June in the Board's administrative areas of Jarrow (which includes the town of Hebburn) and Gateshead II (which includes Felling), the numbers of cases in which a winter allowance had been withdrawn were 1,390 and 1,194, respectively.

32. Mr. T. Smith

asked the Minister of Labour the number of cases in which unemployment assistance has been given, wholly or partly, in kind during the past six months in the district covered by the Pontefract area office?

Mr. Brown

I am having inquiry made and will communicate the result to the hon. Member as soon as possible.

Mr. Smith

Will the right hon. Gentleman try to ascertain whether relief in kind has been given other than in special cases as defined by Part II of the Unemployment Act?

Mr. Brown

I will ask the Board to take up that point, as well as the general question.

Mr. Smith

In order to allay the anxiety of the unemployed, will the right hon. Gentleman say whether this relief in kind represents a change in policy?