HC Deb 29 March 1923 vol 162 cc747-9W
Mr. REYNOLDS

asked the Minister of Labour if he will give the following particulars relating to the Department in

Financial Year. Expenditure on
New buildings. Rentals. Salaries.
£ £ £
1917–18 … … 28,162 69,507 980,000
1918–19 … … 81,603 115,998 1,730,124
1919–20 … … 706,547 244,239 3,991,585
1920–21 … … 841,041 232,366 4,761,630
1921–22 … … 426,938 224,943 6,373,786
1922–23 (approximate) … … 195,650 199,000 4,639,954
1923–24 (estimated) … … 117,800 177,000 3,551,254
Financial Year. Total net expenditure out of Ministry of Labour Vote and other Votes of Parliament. Total expenditure of the Unemployment Fund, less State contribution which is included in previous column. Combined total expenditure. Number of staff on 1st April in each year.
£ £ £
1917–18 … 1,859,815 — — 5,995
1918–19 … 2,975,754 — — 6,405
1919–20 … 49,951,974 — — 26,318
1920–21 … 29,305,892 8,398,655 37,704,547 18,904
1921–22 … 21,153,423 63,243,276 84,396,699 25,298
1922–23 (approximate) … 19,555,355 37,421,910 56,977,265 21,244
1923–24 (estimated) … 17,240,533 36,283,000 53,523,533 15,500

A great part of the increase in staff and expenditure in the first years after the Armistice is due to the Out-of-Work Donation scheme, representing a total expenditure of £62,000,000.

It is important to observe that the placing of workpeople in work, to which special reference is made in the question, is only one of a number of services administered by the Ministry of Labour; the figures of expenditure given relate to all services administered and include the fol1owing:

  1. (a) Unemployment Insurance.
  2. (b) Trade Boards.
  3. (c) Conciliation Act, 1896.
  4. (d) Industrial Courts Act.

respect of each year since its establishment; expenditure on new buildings, expenditure on rentals of buildings, number of staff and total of salaries, total expenditure each year, and number of permanent and temporary situations secured for applicants?

Mr. BETTERTON

The following is the information desired:

  • (e) Collection and publication of Labour Statistics.
  • (f) National Scheme for the employment of disabled ex-service men and King's Roll Committees.
  • (h) Professional training of ex-service men.
  • (i) Industrial training of ex-service men.
  • (j) Interrupted apprenticeship scheme for ex-service men.
  • (k) Re-settlement grants for ex-service men.
  • (g) Grant to International Labour Office.

For the following reasons the volume of work involved in administering Un employment Insurance and the State Contribution to the Unemployment Fund have increased very greatly since 1917–18.

  1. (a) The number of persons insured increased to 12,000,000 in 1920–21 from less than 4,000,000 in 1917–18.
  2. (b) The numbers registered as unemployed since April, 1921, have averaged considerably over 1,500,000 (apart altogether from those on short-time, who numbered well over 1.000,000 in April and May, 1921), as compared with about 40,000 in 1917–18.
  3. (c) The amount of unemployment benefit (including dependants' benefit) estimated to have been paid, for example, during 1922–23 is £43,500,000, as compared with £65,077 in 1977–18,

It is generally not practicable to ascertain whether situations found for persons seeking employment are of a permanent or temporary nature. The total number of situations found in each year was as follows: 1917–18, 1,575,702; 1918–19, 1,347,957 1919–20, 1,008,136; 1920–21, 880,175 1921–22, 726,179.

The expenditure on New Buildings includes the cost of the acquisition and adaptation of Government Instructional Factories for the training of disabled men.

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