§ 6. Mr. Fernyhoughasked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance if he will introduce legislation to extend the period during which unemployment benefit may be claimed.
§ Mr. Boyd-CarpenterNo, Sir.
§ Mr. FernyhoughIs the Minister aware that there are many cases of men who have worked for 40 years in industry, who unfortunately find themselves out of work, who have to go to the National Assistance Board after a period of eighteen months? Is he further aware how deeply humiliating this is to men who have rendered service in industry, and does he not think that they are worthy of more consideration?
§ Mr. Boyd-CarpenterThat is a very much wider question. The Question on the Order Paper relates to a desire to extend the period for claiming unemployment benefit. I would remind the House that the period now fixed, going up to a maximum dependent upon contributions of nineteen months, is longer than it has been over most of the lifetime of the scheme, and that the unlimited benefit under the Act of 1946 was deliberately fixed for a period of five years to cover a transitional period.