§ Mr. Blakerasked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance since what date, and at what rate, Michael Chaplin, of Lawn Road, Hampstead, has been receiving National Assistance; and if she will explain the circumstances in which he is receiving it.
§ Miss HerbisonIt is a long-standing practice of the National Assistance Board not to disclose information about individual recipients of assistance who furnish details about their circumstances on the understanding that all their transactions with the Board will be treated in strict confidence. The officers of the Board and of the Ministry of Labour are, of course, alive to the need to see that able-bodied men do not remain unemployed at the public expense when there is work available for them. I understand that Mr. Chaplin has now signed a contract with a firm of music publishers and will therefore cease to receive assistance.