§ 4. Mr. Parkasked the Minister of Social Security if she will amend the National Insurance Regulations, so that lorry drivers, deprived of their licences for traffic offences committed in a private capacity whilst driving their own cars, will no longer be liable to lose unemployment benefit.
§ Miss HerbisonNo, Sir. Whether a traffic offence which leads to a person's dismissal from his employment constitutes misconduct for the purpose of disqualification for unemployment benefit is properly a question for determination on the facts of the individual case by the independent adjudicating authorities who decide all claims for unemployment benefit.
§ Mr. ParkI thank my right hon. Friend for her Answer. Does she not appreciate the injustice of a situation in which for an offence committed in his own time and totally unrelated to his employment a lorry driver may lose his claim to unemployment benefit for a 61 period of up to six weeks? Will she look at the Regulations and, if possible, amend them so that in future unemployment benefit shall be withheld only for offences directly connected with a person's occupation?
§ Miss HerbisonI assure my hon. Friend that I have looked very closely at this because one of the trade unions concerned met me to discuss the matter. It is always very difficult to define misconduct. Of course, this applies not only to this kind of case but to other cases. That is why we have the appeal machinery. I can only say to my hon. Friend, as I said to the trade union concerned, that the man should always exercise his rights of appeal right up to Commissioner level.