asked the Minister for Local Government and Public Health if he will furnish particulars of the amounts already sanctioned by his Department for approved works and for which moneys have been provided out of the Relief Schemes Vote in the cases of (1) borough councils, (2) urban councils, (3) boards of health, and if he can furnish particulars of the number of men employed during the week ended 7th February, 1931.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Relief Schemes—Amounts Sanctioned.
The following grants have been allocated:—
|
£ |
|
|
Borough Councils |
50,582 |
|
Urban Councils |
24,955 |
|
Boards of Health |
39,310 |
I have not got any information as to the number of men employed on these schemes during week ending 7th February, 1931.
Has the Minister asked for the information from the public bodies concerned?
The bodies concerned provide information as to the position with regard to unemployment in their areas when submitting their proposals.
In view of the fact that the Relief Scheme Vote was for the purpose of the relief of unemployment is it not desirable that such information should be supplied to the House when asked for?
It would be quite impossible, and would serve no useful purposes, to get returns of the number of people employed on these different schemes. It would vary from day to day and from week to week. Diffe rent departments are administering the grants, and a large number of bodies are also concerned. Once consideration is given to the state of unemployment in a particular area and to the works proposed to be carried out and grants have been allotted, then no further use could be made of the information available from day to day and from week to week as to the number of men employed on these schemes. In many cases they could not be differentiated. Take, for instance, work on a public health scheme, only part of the cost of that is borne by the Relief Vote.
Is it not desirable and useful that a Deputy should be able to find out to what extent the allocation of this Relief Vote has helped towards the relief of unemployment in a particular area?
I think that the amount of money provided and type of work for which it is provided is a much better index to a Deputy or to any other person interested in the matter as to the extent of the relief given to unemployment than the gathering together of enormous numbers of figures that it would be very often difficult to interpret.
Is it not a fact that before the Minister sanctions any grant out of the Relief Fund he has first submitted to him by the local body, or any other authority, the scheme with all its details and the actual number of men that will be employed for the spending of the particular amount of money?
That is so.
Is it not possible for the Minister, when he has these figures, to give the Deputy the figures he wants by adding up the total amounts of money and the total number of the men employed?
If 140 public bodies, at different dates stretching over two or three months, gave information that they were going to carry out certain work, and asked that portion of the cost be borne by the relief scheme—even if they did with the greatest possible accuracy give the number of men to be employed generally on that particular class of work, how we are to find out how many men are actually at work on these schemes, say, during the year ended 7th February, 1931, I do not know. I do not see what useful purpose could be served, because in this matter you have not only your relief vote, but local money also is being expended.
Might I suggest that the Minister for Local Government supply the information, if he has it, to the Minister for Industry and Commerce, so that he may complete the census return of unemployment?
That certainly is a separate question.