§ Sir W. de FRECEasked the Minister of Labour the number of workers who are drawing benefit under the continuity rule?
§ Miss BONDFIELDIf, as I assume, the hon. Member refers to claimants to benefit who have intermittent short spells of employment and unemployment, I regret that statistics giving the information desired are not available.
§ Mr. D. G. SOMERVILLEasked the Minister of Labour how many unemployed who have paid less than 30 contributions during the past two years have received benefit since the Unemployment Insurance (No. 2) Act came into force; and how many are now receiving it?
§ Miss BONDFIELDStatistics are not available regarding the total number of persons who have received benefit under the transitional conditions since the Unemployment Insurance Act, 1930, came into force. At 22nd September, 1930, out of 1,967,000 claimants on the registers of Employment Exchanges in Great Britain, there were 342,000 in whose cases it had been ascertained that 30 contributions had not been paid in the preceding two years. I am unable to give the precise number who were actually in receipt of benefit.