§ Mr. CADOGANasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the amount paid in subsidies under the Housing Acts for each financial year since 1920–21, including the estimated figures for 1930–31, and the amount in grants made by the Exchequer for work contributing to the relief of unemployment carried out by private enterprise, and the total expenditure of the Exchequer on schemes for the relief of unemployment during the same period?
§ Mr. P. SNOWDENThe amounts paid in subsidies under the Housing Acts in each year since 1920–21 inclusive and the estimated figure for 1930–31 are as follow:
£ 1920–21 3,238,093 1921–22 9,768,478 1922–23 10,486,187 1923–24 8,773,467 1924–25 9,045,588 1925–26 8,877,824 1926–27 9,448,253 1927–28 10,780,050 1928–29 12,067,927 1929–30 12,727,320 1930–31 (estimated) 13,591,982 As regards the remainder of the question, I would refer the hon. Member to my reply circulated to-day to a similar question put by him.
§ Mr. CADOGANasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the total amount of Exchequer contributions under the Unemployment Insurance Acts; the amount of uncovenanted benefit paid under the Unemployment Insurance Acts; the cost to the Exchequer and local authorities of schemes carried out by public bodies for the relief of unemployment; and the amount of grants made by the Exchequer towards work for the relief of unemployment carried out by private enterprise for each financial year 1291W since 1920–21, including the estimated figures for 1930–31?
§ Mr. SNOWDENThe total amount of Exchequer contributions under the Unemployment Insurance Acts from 1920–21 to 1929–30 has been as follows:
Financial Year. Amount. £ 1920–21 2,169,000 1921–22 8,123,000 1922–23 12,001,000 1923–24 12,811,000 1924–25 13,145,000 1925–26 13,504,000 1926–27 10,838,000 1927–28 12,025,000 1928–29 11,758,000 1929–30 19,498,000 115,872,000 The amount for 1929–30 includes £4,000,000 under Section 16 (2) of the Unemployment Insurance Act, 1930. Beyond this it is not practicable to give figures of uncovenanted benefit as no separate figures were kept and they could not now be extracted. As regards the third and fourth parts of the question, difficulty arises in a number of cases in discriminating between unemployment schemes and those undertaken in the ordinary course e.g., in connection with road works, land drainage, afforestation, water supply and the data in regard to some of these schemes and to schemes of land reclamation and light railways undertaken shortly after the War are incomplete. The following tables relate to schemes for road improvement included in special unemployment programmes of the Ministry of Transport and to schemes aided by the Unemployment Grants Committee and by the Committee constituted last year under Part I of the Development (Loan Guarantees and Grants) Act, 1930. Assistance in the latter class of case is mainly given by way of contributions towards loan charges; in the case of road schemes the figures represent capital grants:
1292WI. Grants to local authorities.—
- (a) by the Ministry of Transport in respect of road schemes;
- (b) by the Unemployment Grants Committee.
— (a) Grants by the Ministry of Transport in respect of road schemes. (b) Grants by the Unemployment Grants Committee. (i) Borne on the Road Fund. (ii) Borne on the Exchequer. £ £ £ 1920–21 395,000 119,000 26,636 1921–22 1,306,000 387,000 1,698,310 1922–23 2,042,000 539,000 570,046 1923–24 2,909,000 90,000 1,034,336 1924–25 3,804,000 — 1,732,415 1925–26 4,927,000 — 2,105,552 1926–27 5,741,000 — 1,473,272 1927–28 5,275,000 — 1,642,649 1928–29 3,227,000 — 1,709,194 1929–30 3,443,000 — 1,876,849 1930–31 (estimated). 6,158,000 — 2,201,000 39,227,000 1,135,000 16,070,259 Information is not available as to the cost of these schemes to the local authorities concerned.
II. Grants (1) by the Unemployment Grants Committee and (2) under Part I of the Development (Loan Guarantees and Grants) Act in respect of schemes carried out by private enterprise.
Financial Year. Grants by the Unemployment Grants Committee. Grants under Part I of the Development Act. £ £ 1920–21 — — 1921–22 — — 1922–23 — — 1923–24 — — 1924–25 17,687 — 1925–26 29,284 — 1926–27 50,734 — 1927–28 50,724 — 1928–29 53,914 — 1929–30 53,669 — 1930–31 (Estimated) 49,000 200,000 £305,012 £200,000 In addition to the foregoing, £750,000 is being provided in the Estimate for the Colonial Development Fund 1930–31 as 1293W a grant in aid of the Fund from which advances will be made under Section (1) of the Colonial Development Act, 1929.
§ Sir J. LAMBasked the Minister of Health for each financial year since 1920–21, including the estimated figures for 1930–31, the subsidies paid under the Housing Acts and the cost to the Exchequer and to local authorities, respectively, of schemes carried out by public bodies for the relief of unemployment?
§ Mr. SNOWDENI have been asked to reply to this question. I would refer the hon. Member to my reply, circulated to-day, to a similar question addressed to me by the hon. Member for Finchley (Mr. Cadogan).
§ Sir J. LAMBasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer for each financial year since 1920–21, including the estimated figures for 1930–31, the amount of grants made by the Exchequer towards schemes carried out by private enterprise for the relief of unemployment?
§ Mr. SNOWDENI would refer the hon. Member to my reply, circulated today, to a similar question addressed to me by the hon. Member for Finchley.