§ Mr. MACLEANasked the Minister of Labour whether he can make any statement regarding his visit to Glasgow and his inquiry into the method of administering the Unemployment Insurance Acts obtaining at the Employment Exchanges in that area?
§ Mr. SHAWI recently visited a number of Exchanges in Glasgow and district, and discussed the administration of unemployment insurance with chairmen and members of local employment committees in session and otherwise. The impression I formed was that the committees deal both efficiently and impartially with claims to benefit in accordance with the powers entrusted to them, and I found no evidence of bias in their recommendations, either in favour of or against applicants for benefit. It is obvious that where thousands of cases have to be dealt with, mistakes will be made, but I am confident that where such mistakes have occurred, they were made inadvertently. The percentage of disallowances of claims for benefit is lower in the Glasgow area than the average percentage in the rest of Great Britain.
2412Wthe last six months the average number of men, women, and young persons upon the Sheffield unemployment register, and the amount paid each month in unemployment benefit?
§ Mr. SHAWThe following figures relate to the Sheffield and Attercliffe Employment Exchanges. The figures for benefit paid do not include benefit paid through associations, which could not be ascertained separately for a particular district without great labour.