§ Mr. A. Edwardsasked the Minister of Labour how many requests for domestic workers were received by the employment exchanges last year and in the first quarter of the current year; how many women were supplied in response; and whether he is satisfied with the present position, especially as far as domestic help to expectant mothers, to mothers after confinement and to young mothers of large families is concerned.
§ Mr. E. BevinI assume that my hon. Friend is referring throughout to the private household. Figures are not available for last year. During February and March of this year, 2,838 women were placed in certain private households and a "home helps," and at the end of March, 6,563 vacancies in this field were outstanding. The households include those of the type he mentioned, and also those of doctors and farmers, and households where there are invalids or infirm persons or large numbers of war workers. All that I can hope to do at present is to alleviate hardship in exceptional circumstances. To this end I have arranged that vacancies in households of the type mentioned above should have priority, and that Women's Panels should in difficult cases determine whether the household is one where domestic work would constitute work of national importance. In some circumstances, I am allowing a young mobile woman, if willing, to be placed in private domestic employment. As my hon. Friend will be aware, home helps are provided by many Local Authorities to give temporary help to mothers during childbirth or where the mother with young children is ill, and this service also has been given a high degree of priority.