Marquess of HARTINGTONasked the Minister of Labour the total cost, 577W including interest and sinking fund charges, of State-aided relief works assisted from the Unemployment Grants Committee or from the Road Fund to the Exchequer and to local authorities, respectively, from the earliest available
Grants from Exchequer and Road Fund. Financial Year. Exchequer Grants in respect of schemes to promote employment, recommended by the Unemployment Grants Committee. Payments out of the Road Fund (and during 1920–23 out of the Exchequer) in respect of Special Road Schemes earmarked for relief of unemployment. 1. 2. 3. £ £ 1920–21 … … 26,636 513,800 1921–22 … … 1,698,310 1,693,690 1922–23 … … 570,046 2,581,283 1923–24 … … 1,034,336 2,998,629 1924–25 … … 1,750,102 3,804,059 1925–26 … … 2,134,836 4,927,283 1926–27 … … 1,524,006 5,740,941 1927–28 … … 1,693,373 5,274,737 1928–29 … … 1,763,108 3,226,975 1929–30 … … 1,937,617 3,443,320 1930–31 … … 2,190,087 6,444,237 NOTES.—(a) The Exchequer grants (column 2) in aid of works assisted through the Unemployment Grants Committee are for the most part a proportion of interest or of interest and sinking fund on the capital cost of the works which is estimated to amount in total to about £160,000,000. The capitalised value of these Exchequer grants outstanding at 31st March, 1931, on works approved to that date, was about £37,000,000. (b) The total cost of the schemes grant-aided from the Road Fund cannot be stated.
Average number of men* directly employed. Financial Year. Average number of men directly employed on Schemes assisted through the Unemployment Grants Committee. Special Schemes as above, assisted from the Road Fund. 1923–24 (last five months). 34,492 12,745 1924–25 … … 36,215 14,573 1925–26 … … 35,260 18,725 1926–27 … … 20,044 16,811 1927–28 … … 11,712 12,506 1928–29 … … 6,777 9,701 1929–30 … … 14,239 15,147 1930–31 … … 43,982 28,764 * It is generally estimated that these schemes have provided an equivalent amount of indirect employment. It should be noted that some of the works covered by the Tables were in progress after 31st March, 1931, and allowance for this should be made in relating the expenditure to the number of men employed.