Sir H. SAMUELasked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury what is the total number of persons in Great Britain on the latest date for which figures are available who were maintained by the unemployment insurance fund as unemployed persons or as dependants on such; and the total number of able-bodied persons who were maintained by the Poor Law, deduction being made for those persons who were in receipt of allowances from both sources so far as known?
§ Miss BONDFIELDI have been asked to reply. In November, 1929, the latest period for which figures in respect of Poor Law relief are available, the average weekly payments of benefit to insured persons from the unemployment insurance fund numbered 999,908. The claims on which dependants benefit was authorised for payment at 18th November numbered 437,394 (in respect of 1,066,827 dependants). The figures relating to payments include cases in which outstanding benefit was paid in respect of previous weeks, but are exclusive of cases in which benefit due in respect of the current week had not been drawn. In England and Wales the average numbers of persons ordinarily engaged in some50W regular occupation, exclusive of dependants, who were in receipt of out door Poor Law relief during November, 1929, were as follow:
Persons insured under the Unemployment Insurance Acts whose unemployment books were lodged at Employment Exchanges 53,751 Persons not insured under the Unemployment Insurance Acts who were registered at Employment Exchanges 11,234 All other persons ordinarily engaged in some regular occupation 26,000*(approx.) The corresponding figures for Scotland in respect of 15th November, 1929, were 17,830*, 3,118 and 1,128, respectively. Figures for November, 1929, in respect of persons who received outdoor relief and unemployment benefit concurrently are not available, but for England and Wales the number in the week including 23rd March, 1929, was 7,785, and it is probable that there was no important variation in the figure for later dates. A corresponding figure for Scotland is not available.
* The number of persons included in this figure who were relieved on account of unemployment is probably very small.