§ Mr. G. MACDONALDasked the Minister of Labour the number of cases in which unemployment benefits have been disallowed by Courts of Referees without leave to appeal to the umpire being granted since 1st March this year?
§ Miss BONDFIELDI regret that I have no statistics on this point.
§ Mr. MACDONALDasked the Minister of Labour what number of references to Courts of Referees on claims for unemployment benefits were considered during the last 12 months with only the chairman of the court present; and what steps she will take to ensure that such cases are considered by a fully representative court?
§ Miss BONDFIELDStatistics on this point are not available for the period prior to last July, but since 1st July figures can be given for the number of sittings. Out of 9,692 sittings held from 1st July to 29th September, 798 (that is1474W about 8 per cent.) consisted of the chairman only. As my hon. Friend is aware, no case can be decided by an incomplete court without the consent of the claimant. I have no power to compel the attendance of members of the courts of referees, but efforts are continually being made to improve the attendances and I have asked a number of local employment committees for the areas where the attendances are least satisfactory to set up special sub-committees to assist in this direction.
§ Mr. WHITEasked the Minister of Labour whether any indication can be given of the proportion of beneficiaries under the Unemployment Insurance Acts who are in receipt of transitional benefit and of the distribution of these beneficiaries among different industrial groups?
§ Miss BONDFIELDAt 22nd September, 1930, out of a total of 1,967,000 claimants for benefit on the Registers of Employment Exchanges in Great Britain, it had been ascertained in 342,000 cases that 30 contributions had not been paid in the preceding two years. An industrial analysis of such cases is not available for any date later than 26th May, 1930; I am sending the hon. Member a copy of the October issue of the "Ministry of Labour Gazette" which contains on page 359, the figures derived from a sample analysis for that date.
§ Mr. FREEMANasked the Minister of Labour whether she will consider the desirability of issuing instructions to Employment Exchanges, when the usual date for the weekly payment of benefit is to be altered, especially when it means a reduction during the week in question, that at least a fortnight's notice shall be given to those concerned?
§ Miss BONDFIELDI am arranging a fortnight's notice to be given whenever possible.