§ Mr. JESSE COLLINGSasked the President of the Board of Trade the amount which has been spent on buildings in connection with the Labour Exchanges from the commencement of the Act to the present time; the amount provided for that purpose in the Civil Service Estimates, 1913–14; and if he will state the amount provided in the Estimates to defray the cost of the administration of the Act?
Mr. ROBERTSONThe amount expended on the purchase of sites, the erection or purchase of buildings, the rental of hired buildings, the adaptation of such buildings, and the furniture and equipment provided for them, in connection with the administration of the Labour Exchanges Act and Part II. of the National Insurance Act, from the initiation of the Labour Exchanges Act in 1909 to the 31st March, 1913, is approximately £441,348. The amount provided for these purposes in the Estimates for the financial year 1913–1914 is £175,889. The amount set down in the Estimates for the financial year 1913–1914 for the combined administration of Labour Exchanges and Unemployment Insurance is £562,025. Against the above sum must be set an Appropriation-in-Aid822W out of the unemployment fund of £247,500, making the net cost to the State £314,525. It is not possible accurately to separate the cost of the two Services, as they are carried on in the same buildings, and to a considerable extent by the same officers.