§ Mr. R. Gibsonasked the Minister of Labour whether he has now investigated the position regarding the figures for unemployed persons registered at the Employment Exchange, Greenock, at 30th September, 1938, and 31st October, 1938; and whether he can account for the rise of 700 over that period of one month?
§ Mr. E. BrownMy hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary has written to the hon. Member explaining that the figures on which this question is based were not supplied officially by the Department. In these circumstances I cannot take any responsibility for their accuracy. It was pointed out in a previous answer that there was a drop in unemployment at Greenock between 12th September and 17th October. If there was a rise between 30th September and 31st October this may be accounted for by special demands for labour at the docks and elsewhere at the earlier date, and bad weather temporarily affecting the building trades at the later date.