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§ Mr. Stan Thorne (Preston)I beg to ask leave to move the Adjournment of the House, under Standing Order No. 10, for the purpose of discussing a specific and important matter that should have urgent consideration, namely,
the problems of the young unemployed caused by statutory instrument No. 613, which has been effective since 29 April.The problems of the young unemployed who rely on lodging allowance have been made acute by this statutory instrument. It is estimated that between 50,000 and 85,000 people nationally will be rendered homeless by this measure. Some young unemployed will be reduced to squatting, to living rough or to moving from place to place. This is yet another serious social problem directly arising from the Government's action in cutting benefits to the needy. The north Lancashire synod of the Methodist Church, for example, has passed an urgent resolution calling on the Government to rescind or modify these new social security measures.Such measures jeopardise young people's right to vote, as it becomes increasingly difficult for them to register. It adversely affects their right to register with a doctor. Besides the 50,000 to 85,000 who may be affected by this measure, 100,000 people between the ages of 26 and 65 who are unemployed and in receipt of lodging allowance may also be affected and rendered homeless.
When this subject was debated early in April, the Minister replying to the debate said that there was a possibility that he would reappraise the measures contained in statutory instrument No. 613, which has now been issued. I urge you, Mr. Speaker, to permit this debate as a matter of urgency, because many young people will be affected within the next two or three weeks. In my area, young people have four weeks since 29 April, after which they will be ejected from their lodgings and become homeless. Therefore, this is an urgent problem from north to south of the British Isles.
§ Mr. SpeakerThe hon. Member for Preston (Mr. Thorne) asks leave to move the Adjournment of the House for the purpose of discussing a specific and important matter that he thinks should have urgent consideration, namely,
the problems of the young unemployed cause by statutory instrument No. 613, which has been effective since 29 April.As the hon. Member knows, the decision that I have to take is whether this matter should have precedence over the business set down for today or tomorrow. I have listened to what he has said, but I do not consider that the matter that he has raised is appropriate for discussion under Standing Order No. 10 and. therefore, I cannot submit his application to the House.