§ Mr. GALLACHERasked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he is aware that men who came out in support of a recent strike at Cardowan colliery were receiving the full able-bodied scale of relief of 26s. per man and wife and 3s. for each child; that the men directly involved in the dispute were only receiving 12s. for wife and 3s. for each child from the Glasgow town council, operating the Provisional Order of 1926; that the Lanarkshire county council refuse to operate the procedure adopted by the, Glasgow town council and are only paying 12s. for wife and 3s. for each child to all directly and indirectly involved in the dispute; and why there is such a wide difference in the methods and scale of payments of the two local authorities?
§ Sir G. COLLINSI understand that, on the information originally supplied to Glasgow town council, the miners who stopped work in sympathy with the brushers were regarded by the council as not being directly involved in a trade dispute and relief was granted at the rate of 26s. per week for man and wife and 3s. per week for each child. Subsequent information having shown that the miners were directly involved in the dispute, relief, after the first week, was only given to their dependants under the powers of the Poor Law Emergency Provisions (Scotland) Act, 1927. In the case of the brushers relief was granted by the Glasgow town council to dependants only 1981W throughout the dispute and this was the procedure adopted by the Lanark county council in the case of both the brushers and miners. The question of the amount of relief to be afforded to an applicant is primarily a matter for the local authority to whom application is made, but any applicant dissatisfied with the amount of relief afforded is entitled to complain to the Department of Health for Scotland.