§ Sir A. Wilsonasked the Minister of Labour how many ex-service men were registered as wholly unemployed at the last convenient date; and how many of them in employment or unemployed were 50 per cent. or more disabled, or had lost a limb?
§ Mr. E. BrownAs regards ex-service men generally, no figure is available since 9th May, 1938, when the number recorded as wholly unemployed was 267,893. The number of disabled ex-service men registered as wholly unemployed on the latest available date, namely 9th January, 1939, was 27,707.
As regards the latter part of the question, statistics are not available on the basis asked for by my hon. and gallant Friend, but of the 27,707 unemployed disabled men 12,183 were persons whose disability would prevent them from returning to their usual occupations but would not preclude them from employment under ordinary industrial or commercial conditions on what might be described as a light job and 244 were persons whose disability rendered it difficult for them to be employed under ordinary industrial or commercial conditions except in some institution specially designed for ex-service men suffering from some very severe occupational disability.