§ 30. Mr. Manderasked the Home Secretary whether he is now able to make a comprehensive statement as to the number and extent of the new undertakings 352 and the amount of trade and employment created as a result of factories and businesses started by refugees in this country?
§ Sir J. AndersonI regret that owing to the pressure of urgent war duties undertaken by the Inspectors of Factories, it has not yet been possible to complete the inquiries which are being made on this subject. Reports covering a small portion of the country have been received, and these show that upwards of 120 industrial establishments providing employment for over 6,000 people have been established by refugees or by refugees jointly with British subjects. In a few weeks' time I hope to have obtained information covering the whole of the United Kingdom, but such information will relate only to industrial undertakings. There are refugees engaged in other trades and businesses about which the compilation of information would be so laborious that I am afraid it cannot be undertaken at the present time. The information which I have shows that the amount of indirect employment and the total volume of trade due to the activities of refugees must be substantial, but about these indirect consequences it is not possible to compile any reliable statistics.