§ Mr. BURGOYNEasked the President of the Local Government Board (1) if he can state how many men are usually employed at the labour colony, Hollesley Bay, Woodbridge; whether any men having clean characters on arrival have been damaged by reports on departure; whether complaints have been made to the managers in regard to the lack of cleanliness; and whether only eight wash-tubs are provided for washing both the men and their clothes; (2) how much the men receive per week for their labour; how the amount is divided between themselves and their wives and families; and whether men so employed come under the provisions of the Insurance Bill; (3) what furlough is permitted to the men each week for the purposes of looking for permanent employment; and (4) the cost of the colony to the country, and what share of its upkeep is borne by the local rates of the various boroughs interested?
§ Mr. BURNSI am informed that the number of men employed at the Hollesley Bay Colony is 330 during the winter and 200 during the summer; that the Central (Unemployed) Body have no information to show that men have been damaged by reports made on their leaving the colony; that no complaint has been made as to lack of cleanliness; that baths are provided for the men, and that the eight washtubs referred to are for the washing of the men's underclothing and towels. As regards payments to the men and their families, I understand that each man receives 6d. a week, and under certain conditions a bonus not exceeding 10s. at the end of four months, and that, subject to certain deductions for her own and her children's earnings, and a small abatement on account of clothing supplied to the husband, the wife receives 10s. a week, with an allowance in respect of each child under fourteen years of age, varying with the number of children. In no case, however, is the total allowance to the wife and family more than 17s. 6d. a week, except that on the occasion of her husband's return on furlough, she receives an extra shilling, and that after the twelfth week996W an extra 1s. per week is paid to her. The men are allowed one furlough in every four weeks, when they leave the colony at twelve o'clock on Saturday and return on the following Monday morning. As regards the question whether the men employed at the colony come under the provisions of the National Insurance Bill, I may refer the hon. Member to Clause 81 and Part II. of the First Schedule to the Bill. The sum expended on the colony out of the Parliamentary Grant in the last-five years is £99,432. No part of the upkeep (as distinguished from loan charges) is payable out of local rates.