§ Mr. Ridleyasked the Minister of Labour if he will increase the allowances under his training and transference schemes.
§ Mr. HareI am proposing to increase the training allowances for men aged 21 and over without dependants at Government Training Centres from £5 10s. per week to £7 10s. For a man with a dependant wife they will go up from £7 0s. 0d. to £8 10s. 0d. For a man with a dependant wife and two or more dependant children the rates will go up from £8 0s. 0d. per week to £9 0s. 0d. a week. Where men have to live away from home during training, lodgings or hostel accommodation are provided by the Ministry and in these cases the new allowances will be £5 per week for men without dependants, £7 5s. 0d. for a man with a dependant wife, £8 5s. 0d. for a man with a dependant wife and two or more dependant children. Increases are also being made in the allowances for young men below 21. These allowances are not liable to Income Tax or deductions for National Insurance contributions. Daily fares are paid where persons have a journey of more than two miles from their homes or lodgings to the training centres and for disabled persons in all cases.
I also propose to increase the lodging allowances payable under the Ministry's transfer schemes from 35s. to 42s. a week. This allowance is paid to transferred workers who continue to maintain dependants in the home area.
The new rates will come into operation on 6th September.