§ 76. Mr. Lewisasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what action his Department has taken during the last six months to improve the employment situation; and with what success.
§ Mr. ErrollIt was a major aim of my right hon. Friend's Budget to give, through tax remissions and repayments of post-war credits, a strong encouragement to economic activity and employment. This was the culmination of a series of measures designed to promote the expansion of the economy, taken over a period extending back considerably further than six months. There has not yet been time for the full results of this series of measures to be seen, but over the six months from November, 1958, to May, 1959, the numbers unemployed fell from 536,000 to 481,000 Of this fall a part, but certainly not the major part, may be attributed to seasonal factors.