asked the Minister of Labour if he could inform the House how much money, and to how many schemes, has as yet been distributed by Lord St. David's Committee; and whether he can make any deduction as to the number of men who have thereby been removed from the list of those receiving unemployment donation?

The Unemployment Grants Committee has, so far, guaranteed grants to local authorities amounting approximately to £800,000. These grants are in respect of 520 schemes. It is estimated that the schemes approved will provide employment for 28,271 men. The number of men actually employed under these schemes on 4th March was 20,698. All these men, with the exception of a small proportion of supervisory staff drawn from the existing staffs of the local authorities carrying on the work, were engaged from the registers of the Employment Exchanges, and it may be assumed that they were, at the time of engagement, in receipt of out-of-work donation or unemployment benefit, except possibly in a few cases where they had exhausted their rights. About 4,400 are employed on a system of short-time working of such a nature that they remain entitled to benefit or donation for the days on which they are not employed.

asked the Minister of Labour, whether ex-Service men discharged subsequent to the 31st July, 1920, upon the termination of a period of service which commenced after the Armistice and who have served during the war are entitled to out-of-work donation; and, if not, upon what principle the discrimination is made?

Ex-Service men discharged after the 31st July last do not come within the Donation Scheme, unless they were, immediately prior to discharge, serving on engagements limited to the duration of the war and had been detained with the Forces after the 31st July, owing to detention in hospital or lack of transport facilities. Men thus excluded from Donation are in most cases granted special rights to Unemployment Benefit in accordance with Section 41 of the Unemployment Insurance Act, 1920. The date 31st July, 1920, was selected for the reason that it was the latest date by which men serving on duration of war engagements were to be discharged. There were a few cases of men serving on duration of war engagements who, owing to detention in hospital or lack of transport facilities were not discharged until after 31st July, and their case has been met by the grant of the ordinary rights to donation.