HC Deb 10 April 1952 vol 498 cc2954-5
12. Mr. Hale

asked the Minister of Labour whether, in the count of the number of persons partially unemployed taken by his Department, the count includes only those persons who are temporarily stopped on the day of the count or whether it includes all persons temporarily stopped at any time during the week preceding.

Sir W. Monckton

The count includes only those persons who are temporarily stopped on the day of the count, that is, on the Monday.

Mr. Hale

I am sure that the right hon. and learned Gentleman, whose attention has been called to this matter before, will now realise that this gives a wholly misleading impression. Clearly, as most firms work Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, we have not got the figures of the partial unemployment at all?

Sir W. Monckton

The difficulty is that, from a survey of the country as a whole, I find that Monday has an effect in one place which it does not have in another, and if I took Friday or some other day I should find exactly the same problem in getting a complete return. What happens is that once a quarter I get a complete week's return on another basis which enables one to check the position to some extent.

Mr. Hale

Can the right hon. and learned Gentleman arrange to have a week's return as the normal standard for the published figures upon which all the information is based? We do not know what private information he has, but we know that the figures which he publishes are wrong.

Sir W. Monckton

The results of the week's complete return which I get each quarter are made public. However, I will look at the whole matter and see if more can be done.

Mr. S. S. Awbery

Might it not improve the position if the right hon. and learned Gentleman took the figures for a week and also took the highest number and the lowest number on a certain day during that week?

Sir W. Monckton

The hon. Gentleman will appreciate that to get the average for the week I should have to take every day. We take one day, and there is no reason to think that any other day would give a fairer return. We attempt to check the figure with a complete week, which we cannot do all the time but do from time to time.

Sir Herbert Williams

Is my right hon. and learned Friend aware that when Miss Margaret Bondfield became Minister of Labour, the system was a weekly count, and that it was a Socialist Government which changed it to a monthly count?

Sir W. Monckton

I am obliged to my hon. Friend for that information.