Mr. S. ROBERTSasked the Minister of Labour whether he is aware that there is a controversy between the Ministry and the clerk to the Ledbury Union as to whether application forms for exemption from the Unemployment Insurance Act of 1920 were despatched by the Ministry to the clerk in December, 1920; whether he is aware that the clerk maintains that on the 10th February, 1921, he sent a form of application for exemption to the Ministry; whether the Ministry acknowledged this letter by postcard; whether on the 22nd March, 1921, the Ministry wrote saying that there was no trace of the receipt of the application forwarded on the 10th February, 1921; and, seeing that the Ministry have no trace of an application which they had previously acknowledged, showing inaccuracy and lack of business methods, whether he will take this into account in assessing evidence as to the despatch of the form in 1920 and grant the application for exemption of the union officials as from the date when the clerk first wrote for the form?
§ Dr. MACNAMARAThe facts in this case are as follow. The clerk to the Ledbury Union applied for forms of application for exception from Unemployment Insurance on 6th December, 1920. These forms were sent by the Ministry on 10th December, 1920, but no application for exception was in fact made by the union at that time. On 30th December, 1921, owing to a visit by an inspector, the 449W Ministry wrote to the clerk pointing out that contributions are payable up to the date of issue of a certificate of exception, and enclosing further copies of the form of application for such a certificate. In reply the clerk stated that he had made application for a certificate of exception or for forms of application on 6th December, 1920, and claimed that contributions should only be payable up to that date. Further correspondence followed, and a formal application for exception was made by the clerk on 10th February, 1922 (not 10th February, 1921, as stated in the question) which was unfortunately mislaid by the Department for a time. It should be observed that the whole of the correspondence, apart from the original request for forms of application, has taken place between 30th December last and the present date. The clerk to the union bases his claim on the ground that the forms of application were not received by him in December, 1920. Strictly speaking, this does not absolve him from his responsibility for securing a certificate of exception, but in all the circumstances I have decided that a certificate may be issued with effect from 6th December, 1920, provided, of course, it is found on inquiry that the conditions for the grant of a certificate are in fact satisfied.