MORE BENEFITS

Evening Post, Volume CXXIX, Issue 65, 16 March 1940, Page 13

MORE BENEFITS

UNEMPLOYMENT RELIEF

SATISFACTORY CONDITION OF BRITISH FUND

(British Official Wireless.)

RUGBY, March 14. ".',

The Unemployment Insurance Sta» , ~ tutory. Committee, one of the ' main ' * functions of which is to Jceep watch on ', the finances of the unemployment in- , surance scheme, has published its an-- -J nual report on the financial conditions '" , of the unemployment fund as at Der '-■. cember 31, 1939. . .' ~>'•'■ The report discloses that the fund, ~' which the committee had expected ~\ would have suffered a loss pf some *I'-* £8,000,000 during the year, actually /"; showed an improvement of more than. £16,000,000. The committee attributes " ' the improved position largely to the \ effect of defence expenditure! ■ . . Assuming that there will be a rise of 4 unemployment after the war, with re-,.'\; sultant large expenditure from the.un- - '. . employment fund, the committee reports that it is unable to' regard any ,' - part of the present balance as dis- -, •' posable surplus. , _ After repayment of a proportion, of > , the debt still owed by the fund, an an- •? nual sum of £1,000,000 is left for the " . benefit of the general^ scheme. The ," commi£tee recommends that this be> • used to increase the benefit - for the

first two dependent children in the'" ,' • families of unemployed workers from 3s to 4s. '-\ The Minister of Labour, Mr. Brown, :,-; announced in the House of Commons { that the Government. had decided to * - accept the recommendation. .