asked the Minister of Labour the number of unemployed persons taken over by the Unemployment Assistance Board from the Kingston-upon-Hull Public Assistance Committee on 1st April, 1937; the number of cases then in receipt of public assistance that were investigated and rejected by the Board; the number of Hull unemployed receiving unemployment assistance on 1st April, 1938, and on 1st October, 1938, or nearest convenient dates; and the number of them receiving help from public assistance committee at the same dates?

In the County Borough of Kingston-upon-Hull on 7th October last, which is the only date for which such figures are available in respect of the local-authority area, approximately 5,750 persons were in receipt of unemployment assistance. As regards the remainder of the question, I am informed by my right hon. friend the Minister of Health that 734 persons ceased to receive public assistance on 1st April, 1937, in consequence of the grant of unemployment assistance; but information is not available, on a local-authority area basis, to enable me to say how many persons who applied for unemployment assistance were found to be outside the scope of the Unemployment Assistance Act. During the months of April and October, 1938, the average numbers of unemployed persons registering at employment exchanges who were in receipt of out-relief on account of unemployment were 410 and 406 respectively.

Can the hon. Gentleman not give the figures for Hull, East, which is now a Special Area, not a distressed area?

It is quite impossible to give figures of any value on a strictly local-authority basis, but if the hon. Member is very anxious for further information, I will try to secure it on the nearest approximately valuable basis.

I thank the hon. Gentleman.