Lieut.-Colonel GAD IEasked the Minister of Labour what has been the cost for 1927 and 1928, respectively, for unemployment benefits, out-of-work donation, or relief, and also the total number of unemployed for 1927 and 1928, respectively, giving details in connection with an abnormal number of unemployed in each year.
§ Sir A. STEEL-MAITLANDpursuant to his reply [OFFICIAL REPORT, 28th February, 1929; col. 2203, Vol. 225] supplied the following statement:
The information desired is given in the following table, which is a continuation of Table I printed in the OFFICIAL REPORT, 29th March, 1927; col. 1064, Vol. 204, in answer to a previous question by the hon. Member:
Year. Unemployment Benefit. Poor Law Relief to able-bodied persons and their dependants. Calendar Year. Year ended 31st March. £ £ 1927 36,750,000 17,350,000 1928 44,270,000 8,500,000 Nine months to 31st December, 1928. — 4,880,000 Out-of-work donation is not now payable, and none was paid in the period covered by the Table. The average number of persons on the registers of local offices of the Ministry of Labour in Great Britain in 1927 was 1,111,771 and in 1928, 1,231,109. The increase in 1928 occurred largely in the coal mining, ship-building and ship-repairing, cotton, woollen and worsted, and boot and shoe industries.