§ Mr. WILLIAM BROWNasked the Minister of Labour if she will state the number of new claims to benefit admitted in Wolverhampton during the last four months as compared with the corresponding period of last year, the numbers rejected for the same periods, and the average number of persons unemployed during these two periods?
§ Mr. LAWSON, pursuant to his reply (OFFICIAL REPORT, 4th November, 1929; col. 645, Vol. 231) supplied the following statement:
The statistics of disallowances for any period include decisions on claims which were lodged before that period, and separate statistics are therefore not available showing the decisions made on new claims to benefit. The following Table gives such information as is avail able in respect of claims to benefit made at the Wolverhampton Employment Exchange during the four months ended 14th October, 1929, and 8th October, 1928, respectively:
operation in the boot repairing trade under the Trade Boards Act, where the operative is working on a day-work basis but a minimum output is demanded, and a bonus is paid at rates less than the prescribed rates as laid down by order 1749W of the Trade Board; and whether seeing that the present power of the board under the Act does not enable them to take effective action, she proposes to amend the Act at an early date?
§ Miss BONDFIELDI presume my hon. Friend refers to what is known as the "stint" system under which the workers are paid at a time-rate, with a bonus on output. The point could not be dealt with without fresh legislation with regard to which I am afraid I cannot give any undertaking.