– in the House of Commons at on 4 March 1929.
Mr William Kelly
, Rochdale
asked the Minister of Labour if he is aware that the insurance officer at Gloucester disallowed unemployment benefit to Mr. W. E. Orton on the ground of not genuinely seeking work, although Mr. Orton had cycled a distance of 186 miles in order to search for work; and what instructions have been issued to insurance officers in connection with such cases?
Sir Henry Betterton
, Rushcliffe
As my right hon. Friend stated last week in a reply, of which I am sending the hon. Member a copy, to the hon. Member for Gorbals (Mr. Buchanan), no instructions are issued either to Courts of Referees or insurance officers with regard to the allowance or disallowance of any claim or class of claims. I am having inquiry made into the facts of the particular case mentioned in the question, and will let the hon. Member know the result in due course.
Ministers make up the Government and almost all are members of the House of Lords or the House of Commons. There are three main types of Minister. Departmental Ministers are in charge of Government Departments. The Government is divided into different Departments which have responsibilities for different areas. For example the Treasury is in charge of Government spending. Departmental Ministers in the Cabinet are generally called 'Secretary of State' but some have special titles such as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Ministers of State and Junior Ministers assist the ministers in charge of the department. They normally have responsibility for a particular area within the department and are sometimes given a title that reflects this - for example Minister of Transport.
