§ Mr. GROVESasked the Minister of Labour whether he will make the necessary enactments that persons in receipt of relief shall not be disqualified from membership of public bodies, and unemployed persons shall not be debarred from membership of local Employment Exchange committees?
§ Mr. SHAWThe question of the statutory disqualifications applying to persons in receipt of Poor Law relief is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Minister of Health. In accordance with2730W an administrative rule laid down in August, 1921, persons drawing unemployment benefit are debarred from sitting on rota committees of local employment committees dealing with claims to benefit, and the same rule was applied to courts of referees by Regulations made in November, 1921. I have recently been looking into this matter, and have come to the conclusion that, on the whole, it is preferable that the rule and Regulations should be maintained. I should point out that the fact that a member of a local employment committee has lost his employment does not mean that he thereby loses his membership of the committee. At the same time I consider it reasonable that, in his own interests, and having regard to the fact that his own claim to benefit might come up for adjudication, he should not be selected to be a member of any rota committee formed to hear claims to benefit whilst receiving unemployment benefit.