GRANTS BY BOARD

Evening Post, Volume CXI, Issue 22, 27 January 1931, Page 10

GRANTS BY BOARD

£71,000 IN VMGES

THE THREE SCHEMES

A statement giving some*, of the Unoinployment Board's activities to date was issued to-day by the chairman (the Hon. S. G. Smith), who staged* that the Board had paid out £71,000 in wages. "Under what is known as scheme No. 1, whereby unemployed, especially married men, might be enabled to earn a few pounds for Christmas, "the Unemployment Board paid out £'.32,466 by way of subsidy of £2 for £1 on estimated cost, the number of local bodies participating in the scheme being 121," said the Minister. "Approximately 5000 men were each given a f ovrtnight 's work, and the total expenditure _ (including the local bodies' contributions) was about £50,000. It was stipulated that at least 50 per cent, of the cost should be for labour. "Under No. 2 scheme, a pomnd-for-pound subsidy on wages only, tie subsidy not to exceed 7s per day, and the employer and employee to agreu as to rate of wages, £36,000 has bean paid for improvements to and development of land in the country and for specified work in the towns. A special feature, of this scheme was.the forrmation, at the Board's suggestion, of about 110 local employment committees, ,on a strictly voluntary basis, to co-operate,_ with the Board. These committees are doing very good work. l . "A third scheme was sthe special allocation of £10,000 by way of grants to local bodies for Christmas relief. Authority for this grant was issued on 22nd December, and on the two following days work was provided by 92 local bodies in all parts of the'country. Over 7000 men benefited by this scheme, each man receiving , approximately two days' work. "From the figures given- above it will be seen that under these three schemes alone a total sum of £71,000 which would not otherwise have been spent has reached the pockets of the unemployed."