§ Sir L. Lyleasked the Minister of Labour whether, taking the list of men returned as permanently unemployed, he will state the chief reasons why, when almost every sort of labour is universally wanted, these men cannot obtain, and are not offered, work?
§ Mr. BevinThere is no list of men returned as permanently unemployed. If my hon. Friend is referring to men classified as wholly unemployed, the majority of these are unemployed for only short periods between jobs. Of the men returned as wholly unemployed on 12th May, 36,393, about a quarter of the total, had been classified by local employment committee panels as unsuitable for ordinary industrial employment for physical and other reasons. It is not to be expected that men so classified can be easily placed in employment but a fair number of them do nevertheless get back into work.