§ Order of the Day for the House to be put into Committee read.
§ Moved, That the House do now resolve itself into Committee.—(The Earl of Clarendon.)
§ On Question, Motion agreed to.
§ House in Committee accordingly.
§ [THE EARL OF DONOUGHMORE in the Chair.]
§ Clause 1:
§ Grants for maintenance of wife and children of unemployed workers.
§ 1.—(1) Subject to the provisions of this Act there shall, while this Act continues in force, be payable to every person who is an unemployed worker within the meaning of this Act towards the maintenance of his wife and dependent children a grant at the rate provided by this Act:
§ Provided that
- (a) where the husband of an unemployed worker is prevented by physical or mental infirmity from supporting himself and is being maintained wholly or mainly by his wife the grant under this Act shall, instead of being payable as hereinbefore provided, be payable to the wife towards the maintenance of her husband and her dependent children; and
- (b) no grant shall be payable under this Act in respect of a wife who is in receipt of unemployment benefit under the Unemployment Insurance Acts, 1920 and 1921, or under any special scheme made under those Acts, or who is in regular wage-earning employment, or is engaged in any occupation ordinarily carried on for profit.
§ (2) The weekly rate of the grant payable under this Act shall be five shillings in respect of a wife or husband as the case may be, and one shilling in respect of each dependent child.
§ (3) Grants under this Act shall be paid subject to such conditions as to proof and otherwise and in such manner as the Minister of Labour may direct.
§ (4) If any question arises as to whether a grant is payable under this Act in respect of any person that question shall be referred to and decided by the Minister of Labour, who may, if he thinks fit, refer the question to the local employment committee for their report and recommendation.
§ The decision of the Minister of Labour on any question which is to be decided by him under this Act shall be final and conclusive and not subject to appeal to any court.
§ (5) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires—
§ The expression "unemployed worker" means a person who, being insured under the Unemployment Insurance Acts, 1920 and 1921, or under any special scheme made under those Acts, is in receipt of unemployment benefit under those Acts or under the scheme, as the case may be:
§ The expression "wife" means a wife who is living with or is being maintained wholly or mainly by her husband, and includes a person who is living as his wife with the person claiming a grant, and any female person who is residing with a person claiming a grant for the purpose of having the care of his dependent children and is being maintained by him:
§ The expression "a dependent child" means any child under the age of fourteen years who is maintained wholly or mainly at the cost of the person claiming the grant, or any child between the ages of fourteen and sixteen who is under full-time instruction in a day school and is so maintained as aforesaid:
§ The expression "child" includes a step-child, an adopted child or an illegitimate child;
§ The expression "local employment committee" means any local committee to which questions may he referred under subsection (5) of section thirteen of the Unemployment Insurance Act, 1920.
§ THE EARL of CLARENDON moved, in subsection (1), after "his wife and dependent children," to insert "or in the case of an employed worker being a woman who has a husband or children dependent on her, towards the maintenance of that husband and those children." The noble 183 Earl said: I beg to move the Amendments to Clause 1 standing in my name on the Paper. As a matter of fact all these Amendments— that is to say, the first, the second and the fourth— must all be read in conjunction one with another. They are all purely drafting, I may say, and do not in any way alter the provisions contained in the Bill.
§
Amendment moved—
Page 1, line 10, after (" children '') insert the said words—(The Earl of Clarendon)
§ On Question, Amendment agreed to
§
Amendment moved—
Page 1, lines 13 to 20, leave out paragraph (a)— (The Earl of Clarendon.)
§ On Question, Amendment agreed to.
§ THE EARL OF CLARENDON moved, at the end of subsection (1), to leave out "a" for a profit". The noble Earl said: It will be noticed that in line 4 on page 2 the word "a" has to be deleted from the phrase "for a profit." It is really a printer's error.
§
Amendment moved—
Page 2, line 4, leave out ("a")—(The Earl of Clarendon)
§ On Question, Amendment agreed to.
§
THE EARL OF CLARENDON had an Amendment on the Paper, after proviso (b) of Clause 1, to insert the following new subsection—
(2) Where a female person is residing with an unemployed worker, who is a widower or unmarried, for the purpose of having the care of his dependent children and is being maintained by him, or has been and is living as his wife with a person who is such an unemployed worker as aforesaid, a grant under this Act shall be payable to the unemployed worker in respect of that person at the same rate, in the same manner and subject- to the same conditions at, in and subject to which a grant is payable under this Act in respect of a wife.
§ The noble Earl said: There is a slight alteration to be made in the new subsection as printed, with the object of making it a little more explanatory. Towards the end of the Amendment, after the word "grant," instead of reading as printed on the Paper —" is payable under this Act in respect of a wife "— it should read as follows: "would be payable to him under this Act if that person were his wife."
184§ Amendment moved—
§
Page 2, line 4, at end insert the following new subsection:
(" (2) Where a female person is residing with an unemployed worker, who is a widower or unmarried, for the purpose of having the care of his dependent children and is being maintained by him, or has been and is living as his wife with it person who is such an unemployed worker as aforesaid, a grant under this Act shall be payable to the unemployed worker in respect of that person at the same rate, in the same manner and subject to the same conditions at, in and subject to which a grant would be payable to him under this Act if that person were his wife.")—(The Earl of Clarendon.)
§ On Question, Amendment agreed to.
§ THE EARL OF CLARENDONThe next Amendment is purely a drafting one, consequential upon the first that was passed.
§ Amendment moved—
§ Line 31, leave out from (" husband ") to end of line 36, and insert (" and for the purposes of this Act a husband shall he deemed to be dependent on his wife if he is prevented by physical or mental infirmity from supporting himself and is being maintained wholly or mainly by her ").— (The Earl of Clarendon)
§ On Question, Amendment agreed to
§ Clause 1, as amended, agreed to
§ Clauses 2 to 9 agreed to.
§ Schedule agreed to.
§ THE EARL OF CLARENDONMy Lords, I beg now to make the Motion standing in my name.
§ Moved, That Standing Order No. XXX IX be considered in order to its being dispensed with —(The Earl of Clarendon)
§ On Question, Motion agreed to, and ordered accordingly.
§ Then (Standing Order No. XXXIX having been suspended), Amendments reported to the House; Bill read 3a, and passed, and returned to time Commons.