§ 10. Mr. Liddallasked the Minister of Labour how many Employment Exchanges are now open; how many persons are employed in them; whether he will set up a committee to inquire into the need for continuing open each individual exchange; and how far a comb-out of staff at each exchange, compatible with efficiency, can be effected, now that the irreducible hard core of unemployment is being reached?
§ Mr. BevinThe number of Employment Exchanges is 508; in addition to which there are 264 employment offices. The number of persons employed therein, permanent and temporary, is approximately 20,000. The reduction in the work at the exchanges owing to the fall in unemployment has been more than offset by new work arising out of the war. The exchanges are my principal instrument for carrying out the measures necessary for obtaining and organising the personnel required by our war effort. The burden on the exchanges, already very heavy, will be increased by the proposals which I recently announced to the House and the staff of the exchanges will have to be further increased in order to enable them to cope with this task