§ 6 and 7. Mr. Harrisonasked the Minister of Labour (1) if he will give the effect to date of the recent increases in the Tobacco Duty and tax on the employment in the industry, with separate figures for the actual unemployed and the number on short time, and the amount of short time worked on a comparative basis with the hours worked before the increased tax;
(2) what steps have been taken to utilise the surplus labour force in the tobacco industry made redundant by the recent increase in the tobacco tax.
§ Mr. IsaacsReturns rendered by employers in the tobacco manufacturing industry in Great Britain show that between the end of March and the end of June there was a reduction in employment of about 300 men and 1,800 women. The workpeople stood off have been absorbed in other industries. At 14th April there were 656 insured persons in the industry registered as unemployed, including nine temporarily stopped; at 16th June the total was 638, including 37 temporarily stopped. In the week ending 28th June, about 2,900 workpeople lost two hours each on the average in short time. On the other hand, 2,480 workpeople were on overtime to the extent of 2f hours each on the average. No short time was worked in the last week of March, but 6,250 work-people130W worked 3½ hours overtime each on the average.