Mr. Andersonasked the Minister of Labour whether he will state the position of a person who is advised by the Employment Exchange to commence work on a given date and, owing to such person having been unemployed for several years, he is unable to take the job for lack of suitable boots and/or clothing; and whether, in the case of such a person residing a long distance from the Employment Exchange, and so being prevented from making an application for boots and/or clothing before starting work, the claim will be allowed in such circumstances, provided the application is proved, if made within one week from being notified of the job?
2439W
§ Mr. E. BrownIt is difficult to give a definite answer upon a hypothetical case, and perhaps the hon. Member will let me have particulars of any specific case he has in mind. He is, no doubt, aware that the question whether a person is entitled to unemployment benefit is a matter not for me, but for the Statutory Authorities, and any question of the grant of unemployment assistance is a matter for the Unemployment Assistance Board. Generally, I can assure the hon. Member that these authorities would deal sympathetically with a case of the kind he describes, and, as regards the position of the Unemployment Assistance Board in relation to the provision of boots and clothing, I would refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave him to a question on the subject on the 25th March of last year. I might also mention that, under my Department's Industrial Transference Scheme, suitable boots and clothing can be supplied in necessitous cases, in the case of transfer from a Scheduled Depressed Area.