§ Sir JAMES YOXALLasked the Secretary to the Treasury if the authority or influence of his Department has been used to prevent an arrangement between the city corporation and the Labour Exchange at Nottingham, whereby the work of stamping cards under Parts I. and II. of the Insurance Act would be done by the Labour Exchange, from taking effect; if so, whether the reason for vetoing such an arrangement was that no item in respect of such work as this appears in the Estimates for Labour Exchanges this financial year; and is he aware that the City Corporation of Nottingham had agreed to pay for this work a fixed rate per 1,000 of the workpeople thus to be dealt with on their cards?
Mr. BUXTONMy right hon. Friend has asked me to answer this question. The difficulty that has arisen in Nottingham has no reference to the question of the cost of the proposed scheme. Under the regulations the Board of Trade can only undertake the stamping of cards and books in the case of employers of workmen in the insured trades, and of employers of workmen in casual occupations. I understand that the majority of the workmen in respect of whom the Nottingham Corporation desire to make an arrangement, do not belong to either of the above categories, and that not more than from1364W six to eight hundred out of a total of 3,000 are employed in the insured trades. The Board are, however, prepared to make such an arrangement with respect to any Department of the corporation service in which the great bulk of the workmen are employed in the insured trades.