§ Mr. John Pageasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how much was paid, by localities, in supplementary benefit and unemployment benefit to those Ford workers laid off or on short time due to the recent strike; and whether he will give an estimate under the same headings of those who were not directly Ford employees but who were also affected.
§ Mr. EnnalsDetailed information about claims for supplementary benefit or unemployment benefit from persons laid off on account of the Ford stoppage is not available.
§ Mr. John Pageasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how much was paid out in supplementary benefit to the families and dependents of those on strike at the Ford Motor Company during the course of the recent dispute, tabulated by localities; how many of his staff were involved and at what cost; and to what extent these figures are final.
§ Mr. EnnalsThe following are provisional figures for supplementary benefit payments for the families of men involved in the Ford trade dispute up to 18th March:—
Departmental Region Amount £ London North (covering Dagenham and other Ford plants in Essex) 40,300 North Western (Merseyside) (covering the Ford plant at Halewood) 43,200 Yorkshire and Humberside 260 East Midlands and East Anglia 250 London, South 2,690 London, West 4,660 Wales 1,930 West Midlands 1,630 North Western (Manchester) 80 £95,000 The number of staff directly involved has varied from day to day, with a peak of about 470; up to 21st March about 3,600 man-days had been worked and the cost was approximately £44,000. The offices specially opened to deal with claims arising from the dispute will mostly remain open for at least part of this week at an estimated cost of £12,000.