asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he has received a report from His Majesty's Ambassador in Moscow on the subject of unemployment in the Soviet Union?

Yes, Sir. His Majesty's Chargé d'Affaires at Moscow recently reported the promulgation on the 9th of October of a decree of the Commissariat of Labour to the effect that, as there was an acute shortage of labour in all industries, no provision is being made in the Social Insurance budget for unemployment payments during the current quarter.