§ 18. Mr. Collinsasked the Minister of Labour the annual amount which will be saved through the closing of the three appointments offices in London, Manchester, and Glasgow.
§ Mr. CarrI estimate that the annual saving will be approximately £203,000, of which about £27,000 is provided as allied services by other Government Departments mostly on premises.
§ Mr. CollinsIs the Parliamentary Secretary aware that this saving—which is nearly half the savings announced by his Department—and the other economies which are being made come at a time when the Government's policy is causing more re-deployment to be necessary, and that therefore further difficulties are being created in finding suitable appointments for men who become unemployed? Will he not reconsider the matter, having regard to the fact that this economy may be extremely unwise?
§ Mr. CarrWhile I would certainly not wish to depreciate the value of the services which these appointment offices have rendered, it must be recognised that they are a most expensive form of placing. For example, last year only about 3,500 people were placed. I can assure the hon. Member that we are taking steps to continue this service by expanding the functions of some of our larger exchanges. The figure for savings which I gave was a net figure which made allowance for that expansion of certain other exchanges.