§ Sir R. ASKEasked the Minister of Labour whether he is aware that the rents of working-class houses in Newcastle and other urban areas are exceptionally high; that the shortage of houses prevents unemployed persons from procuring cheaper accommodation; that in such areas the present scale of unemployment benefit leaves an inadequate sum for necessaries of life after payment of rent; and whether he will sympathetically consider the feasibility of increasing benefits in such areas to compensate for the rents charged?
688W
§ Sir H. BETTERTONThe rates of insurance benefit, which are also the maximum rates for transitional payments, are fixed at uniform figures for the whole country, and cannot be varied for particular areas.