§ 7. Mr. Chapmanasked the Minister of Labour whether his attention has been drawn to cases in Birmingham, and to particular examples which have been sent to him, of men who are finding it difficult to obtain employment after dismissal by the British Motor Corporation; whether he is satisfied that these are isolated examples; and if he will make a further statement.
§ Mr. CarrMy right hon. Friend will write to the hon. Member as soon as he has made inquiries, but for the present he has no further statement to make in amplification of what he said on 26th July.
§ Mr. ChapmanWill the Minister pay particular attention to the example which I sent him of the man who tried for 28 jobs and did not manage to get one of them? He is a very good man; I know him personally. Secondly, will he have a look at these cases in which it is alleged that certain employers are refusing to take B.M.C. men? One firm of food distributors has been mentioned. It might be advisable to look into the whole matter.
§ Mr. CarrI can assure the hon. Member that my right hon. Friend will look into it as carefully as he can and write to him. As the hon. Member knows, my right hon. Friend received these details only as recently as Tuesday.
§ Mr. SimmonsHow many of these men are disabled ex-Service men, as in the case of the man at D. C. Thomson's? Are the provisions of the King's Roll for the employment of the disabled applied fully both at Thomson's and in this case?
§ Mr. CarrI am afraid that I cannot give the hon. Member that information without notice, but I will look into the matter and write to him about it.
§ 8. Mr. Chapmanasked the Minister of Labour what was the basis of his estimate that 10,000 vacancies exist in the immediate area of Birmingham; and if he will give a rough breakdown of the figures showing the industries needing men and the skills mainly in demand.
§ Mr. CarrThe total of 10,000 is the sum of the vacancies for men verified as outstanding on 25th July at employment exchanges within daily travelling distance of the centre of Birmingham. The information desired in the second and third parts of the Question is not immediately available, but my right hon. Friend will write to the hon. Member as soon as practicable.
§ Mr. ChapmanIs not the Minister aware that, until we have these figures broken down, they are totally meaningless in Birmingham? Is he aware that men sacked from engineering jobs are now finding it very difficult indeed to obtain alternative jobs and regard with derision the Minister's statement that 10,000 vacancies are sure to be available for them?
§ Mr. CarrAs to the derision about the vacancies, I can only assure the hon. Member that the number of vacancies is verified every four weeks. At the end of each four-week period, all those which have been notified more than a week previously are checked. Replying about the general employment position, the unemployment register of ex-B.M.C. employees on 30th July was 1,191, which is 500 fewer than a fortnight earlier.