§ Lieut.-Colonel Cordeauxasked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance (1) how much money has been drawn in the form of unemployment benefit during the past three years from any convenient date by aliens and British subjects who are not citizens of the United Kingdom who first arrived in this country and entered into insurance during the past three years;
(2) how many aliens and British subjects who are not citizens of the United Kingdom who arrived in this country during the past three and a half years from any convenient date have at some period been in receipt of unemployment benefit.
§ Miss PittI regret that this information is not available. My hon. and gallant Friend will, however, be aware that aliens and British visitors alike are not entitled to any of the benefits of the National Insurance Scheme until they have satisfied the contributory conditions of the scheme. In the case of unemployment benefit that means that a visitor from abroad cannot qualify for any benefit unless he has been employed and contributed here for at least 26 weeks, and that the length of time that he can claim this benefit depends to some extent upon the length of time during which he has contributed. These provisions do not, of course, apply to people coming from a country with which we have a reciprocal agreement which treats residence or contributions in that country as equivalent to contributions here.