§ Mr. Mainwaringasked the Minister of Labour if home or out work from factories is on the increase in this country; whether his Department views with approval any development on these lines; whether there are any regulations governing the conditions; and are they subject to inspection and report.
§ Mr. TomlinsonThe giving out of work from factories to be done in places which are not factories has, it is understood, increased in some of the munitions industries, and in my right hon. Friend's view it is often in the public interest, under war conditions, that arrangements of this kind should be made. The health conditions in such places are subject to inspection and control by local authorities as provided for by the Public Health Acts; and in a pamphlet on outwork issued by the Ministry of Production in conjunction with my Ministry and the Supply Departments there is a special warning as to not giving out types of work which require special health precautions.
§ Mr. Mainwaringasked the Minister of Labour if the persons engaged upon home 1584W or out work from factories are compulsorily insurable for health and unemployment purposes and are the employers liable for workers' compensation in cases of accident.
§ Mr. TomlinsonOut-workers are not liable to unemployment insurance, unless they are employed under conditions which constitute a contract of service and this is not usually the case. With regard to their position under the National Health Insurance Acts, I am informed by my right hon. Friend the Minister of Health that generally such persons come within the scope of the Act, while my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Home Department informs me that such persons are excluded from the provisions of the Workmen's Compensation Act.