• Parliament Our Parliamentary Correspondent writes : The time of
Parliament during the last week before the recess was almost exclusively occupied by Russia and India ; for although there was a debate upon relief for the able-bodied destitute on the penultimate day, the plans of the Government were found not to be far enough advanced for a very definite declaration of policy. There is an acute division of opinion whether State relief should be continued to be administered by local authorities and eked out by contributions from the rates, or whether the able-bodied unemployed who fall out of insurance should become a national charge and be looked after by Government officials, or, finally, whether a combination of these two systems is possible. The administrative and financial problems involved become more and more formidable as heavy unemployment persists, as the re- sources of distressed areas diminish, and as the private means of the unemployed become exhausted. These problems were not tackled at the time when they were manageable ; they were obscured by the foolishly op- timistic report of the Blanesburgh Committee in 1927 ; and as a result there arc about as many plans suggested as there are experts.
Previous page
