§ 8. Mr. Malcolm MacMillanasked the Minister of Labour whether he is aware that cases have occurred in the Western Isles of unemployed men being cut off 2082 benefit or unemployment assistance benefit allowance because, though they were open for local work, they refused to go to the mainland owing to their having to attend to aged relatives and a croft, and of poor wages offered with broken time for bad weather, and extra living deductions from wages through having to maintain their island homes as well as pay board and lodging where working; whether local officials have his approval in dealing in this way with these cases; and what action he now proposes to take to end demands of this kind upon the unemployed persons in the islands?
§ Mr. E. BrownThe hon. Member has sent me one or two cases, and I shall be happy to inquire into any others if he will give me particulars. But I ought to point out that, both for unemployment benefit and for unemployment assistance, an applicant must be available for work. Whether he is and whether a particular employment is suitable are matters for the statutory authorities under the Unemployment Insurance Acts or for the Unemployment Assistance Board, as the case may be, and I cannot intervene.