Mr. W. M'LEAN WATSONasked the Minister of Labour the number of mine-workers registered as unemployed at the employment exchanges in the counties of Ayr, Lanark, Stirling, West, East and Mid Lothian, Fife, Kinross and Clackmannan at the latest available date, and the numbers at the same dates in 1925, 1926 and 1927?
§ Sir A. STEEL-MAITLANDIt would involve great labour to take out the figures for these counties separately. I am, therefore, giving the figures for Scotland as a whole. At 22nd October, 1928, the number of insured persons in Scotland classified as belonging to the mining industry recorded as unemployed was 26,187, as compared with 19,989 at 24th October, 1927, 20,100 at 25th October, 1926, and 29,687 at 26th October, 1925. The numbers of workers classified as belonging to the coal mining industry included in these figures were 25,853 in 1928; 19,548 in 1927; 19,081 in 1926; and 29,368 in 1925. The figures for October, 1926, are exclusive of persons who were disqualified for benefit by reason of the dispute in the coal mining industry.