§ Sir C. EDWARDSasked the Minister of Labour whether he is aware that great resentment is felt by people who are in receipt of national assistance by the questions put by the inquiry agents who are employed under his Department; that many of these questions are humiliating and are backed up by unnecessary prying into the private affairs of the home; and will he make inquiries into these matters, and also make available for Members the instructions sent out to these inquiry agents?
§ Mr. E. BROWNI assume that the hon. Member refers to the inquiries made by officers of the Unemployment Assistance
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Numbers of unemployed persons on the registers of Employment Exchanges in each of the Special Areas and in Lancashire at 25th November, 1935. — Males. Females. Wholly Unemployed (including casuals). Temporarily stopped. Wholly Unemployed (including casuals). Temporarily stopped. Special Areas: Durham and Tyneside … … … 141,594 6,900 14,248 1,099 West Cumberland … … … 12,105 1,070 1,291 99 South Wales and Monmouthshire … 123,431 12,206 11,009 805 Scotland … … … … … 65,485 5,239 11,543 1,661 Lancashire … … … … 230,811 27,922 67,162 21,189 Board with respect of the needs of persons who apply for unemployment allowances. Where the needs to be met relate to household equipment or clothing, the inquiries are necessarily detailed, but I have no reason to think that they go beyond what is reasonable in all the circumstances, or that the Board's instructions that every consideration should be shown to the feelings of applicants are not being observed. If the hon. Member has any individual cases in mind I should be glad if he will communicate with me and I will put him in touch with the Board. As regards the last part of the question, I would refer to the reply given to the hon. Member for Abertillery (Mr. Daggar) on the 10th December.