§ Mr. PENNEFATHERasked the Minister of Labour what are the causes which have led to such large numbers of disabled and other ex-Service men being out of employment in Liverpool and other parts of the Kingdom; and what further steps can be taken to assist these men to obtain employment?
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§ Sir R. HORNEUnemployment among disabled men and ex-Service men is due to a variety of causes, some common to all classes of the unemployed, others peculiar to ex-Service men and in particular to disabled men. Of the former the principal are lack of the requisite skill or experience for the particular work available in the immediate locality, the dearth of housing accommodation which militates against mobility of labour and to some extent the competition of women for work which before the War would normally have been done by men. Among the latter I may instance the inherent disadvantage which many disabled men suffer in competition with the able bodied insufficient appreciation among employers of the capabilities of disabled men, and the difficulties which certain trade unions have placed in the way of the admission of ex-Service men into skilled trades. I am afraid I ought to add that, owing to the continuance of out-of-work donation for ex-Service men, some of these men are not so keen on accepting irksome work as they otherwise would be. I hope I need not assure the hon. Member that the Employment Exchanges in conjunction with the Local Employment Committees are making continuous exertions on behalf of ex-Service men who desire work. The national scheme is being pressed forward, with satisfactory results; and every effort is being, and will be, made to remove the causes conducing to unemployment among ex-Service men, so far as it lies in the power of the Ministry of Labour to do so.