SOCIAL SERVICES (EXPENDITURE). (Hansard, 5 February 1941)

§ Captain Crookshank

Yes, Sir. I append a statement giving the latest figures available for 1938 and 1939. These should be compared with those published in the OFFICIAL REPORT for 2nd July, 1940, in respect of 1937 and 1938. As I explained in answer to a Question by my hon. and gallant Friend the Member for Orkney and Shetland (Major NevenSpence) when I gave these figures on 2nd July, I felt that the need for economy in labour and paper made it necessary to suspend during the war the printing and publication of the full return on social service expenditure.

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PUBLIC SOCIAL SERVICES.
Total Expenditure under Certain Acts of Parliament.
Other than expenditure out of loans for capital purposes or out of capital receipts.
NOTE.—This Statement gives the expenditure on Public Social Services in 1938 and 1939, the latest years for which details are available, which would have been included in Part I of the return to be published in continuation of Command 5906 of November, 1938. Reference should be made to Command 5906 for comparable expenditure in earlier years and for information as to the basis on which the return is compiled, but it should be observed that the explanatory notes given in that return are not now accurate in all respects.
Service	England and Wales.	Scotland.	1938 (or latest available year) Great Britain.	Total number of persons directly benefiting from the expenditure included in Column 5.
Financial Year commencing 1st April.	Financial Year commencing 1st April.
1938 (or latest available year).	1939 (estimated)	1938 (or latest available year).	1939 (estimated).
(1)	(2)	(3)	(4)	(5)	(6)
(a) Unemployment Insurance and Unemployment Assistance Acts:	£000	£000	£000	£000	£000	England and Wales	Scotland
(i) Unemployment Benefit, etc., General Scheme	…	…	…	…	…	56,231	39,765	6,992	5,079	63,223	12,222,000^*	1,440,000^*
(ii) Unemployment Benefit, etc., Agricultural Scheme	…	…	…	…	…	947	911	158	148	1,105	593,000^*	97,000^*
(iii) Unemployment Allowances	…	…	32,111	25,564	7,532	5,681	39,643	17,151,000^*	1,935,000^*
(iv) Prevention and Relief of Distress	…	—	860	—	120	—	Not available	Not available
(b) National Health Insurance Acts	…	…	…	36,261†	36,345†	4,293†	4,350†	40,554	19,225,000^*	2,221,300^*
(c) Widows', Orphans' and Old Age Contributory Pensions Acts	…	…	…	…	…	42,731‡	43,821‡	5,063‡	5,151‡	47,794	2,008,000	245,986
(d) Old Age Pensions Acts	…	…	…	…	43,322	44,123	5,079	5,129	48,401	1,825,000	214,000
(e) War Pensions Acts and the Ministry of Pensions Act	…	…	…	…	…	…	33,767	32,895	3,693	3,580	37,460	746,700	83,350
(f) Pensions (Navy, Army, Air Force and Mercantile Marine) Act, 1939; Personal Injuries (Emergency Provisions) Act, 1939; Military Training Act, 1939; Reserve and Auxiliary Forces Act, 1939	…	…	…	…	…	—	493	—	68	—	Not available	Not available
(g) Education Acts	…	…	…	…	…	106,987	107,611	15,411	15,289	122,398	7,032,188	976,363
(h) Physical Training and Recreation Act	…	…	192	295	30	35	222	Not available	Not available
(i) Acts relating to Approved Schools	…	…	933	981	154	165	1,087	8,751	2,055

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Service	England and Wales.	Scotland.	1938 (or latest available year) Great Britain.	Total number of persons directly benefiting from the expenditure included in Column 5.
Financial Year commencing 1st April.	Financial Year commencing 1st April.
1938 (or latest available year).	1939 (estimated)	1938 (or latest available year).	1939 (estimated).
(1)	(2)	(3)	(4)	(5)	(6)
	£000	£000	£000	£000	£000	England and Wales	Scotland
(j) Public Health Acts so far as they relate to:
(i) Hospitals and Treatment of Disease	…	17,708	Not available	1,733	1,634	19,441	Not available	Not available
(ii) Maternity and Child Welfare Work	…	3,846	450	456	4,396	Not available	Not available
(k) Midwives Acts	…	…	…	…	…	1,164	4	37	1,168	Not available	Not available
(l) Housing Acts	…	…	…	…	…	40,133	7,550	8,010	47,683	—	—
(m) Acts relating to the Relief of the Poor	…	…	41,832	5,763	5,967	47,595	1,199,159	233,465
(n) Lunacy and Mental Treatment Acts	…	…	3,589	1,656	1,601	8,784	132,173	22,013
(o) Mental Deficiency Acts	…	…	…	…	3,539	Not available
Totals	…	…	…	465,293		65,561	62,500	530,854
NOTES.
^* Numbers given are those of insured persons. See paragraph 6 on page 5 of Command 5906.
† The figures given in columns 1 and 3 and columns 2 and 4 relate to the calendar years 1939 and 1940 respectively.
‡ These figures refer to expenditure from the Pensions Account, the Special Pensions Account, the Pensions (Scotland) Account and the Special Pensions (Scotland) Account. Surpluses and deficits in these Accounts are dealt with by transfers to and from the Treasury Pensions Account and the Treasury Special Pensions Account which cover both England and Wales and Scotland, and into which annual contributions are to be paid by the Exchequer. For the financial year 1938 the amount of the Exchequer contribution was £17,000,000.

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