that the first of these causes greatly outweighed the second. Taken together, however, their effect was transitory, and the abnormal increase in the women's books placed in the Dead file in September and October, 1925, is followed by an abnormal decrease in the books placed there in November and December, 1925. These increases and decreases appear to cancel out almost exactly, and the indication is that the special examination of Women claimants in July, 1925, merely anticipated by a month or two disallowances which would in any case have been made in due course. Over the average of the four months in question there is no net abnormal increase in either the men's or the women's books in the Dead file. Therefore, the maximum number of persons who can have passed out of the official statistics of "Persons on the Register as a consequence of restrictions on the receipt of benefit which came into operation in July and August, 1925, is 13,700. These figures, as already indicated, represent the outside limit of possible extraneous deflation due to legislative and administrative changes. They include an unknown proportion of additionally-disallowed persons who have since got work in uninsured industry or who have returned to domestic duties or who have retired from the labour market. Since the object is to measure not how many persons were improperly receiving benefit before the restrictions but how far the present figures differ from what they would have been had the restrictions not been imposed, this consideration must be treated with caution; but it must diminish to some extent he real amount of extraneous deflation. It would seem reasonable to put the extraneous deflation of the Register between 24th August, 1925, and January, 1926, due to the greater restrictions on the receipt of benefit which came into operation during July and on 25th August, 1925, at somewhere in the region of 10,000. In comparing this figure of 10,000 with the numbers of disallowances of claims in columns 8, 9 and 10 of the Table on page 5, two points should be borne in mind: (a) The number of disallowances is considerably larger than the number of persons whose claims were disallowed. The same person may have repeated claims disallowed and therefore count several times over in the number of disallowances. (b) The number of persons maintaining registration after disallowance of benefit has increased almost continuously since October, 1924. The increase will be seen from column 11 of the Table. The numbers of these persons have increased from 19,608 at 27th October, 1924, to 79,422 at 25th January, 1926. It should be understood that all these persons are counted both in the weekly Register figures given to the Press and in the Monthly figures of "Insured Persons Unemployed" which are presented in the Ministry of Labour Gazette. (1) So far as regards persons who register at the Exchanges, the effect of restrictions on benefit in unduly reducing the numbers of persons" on the register "at any given date is not greater that the sum at that date of the increases (if any) in the Two Months file and the Dead file above normal. (2) The Two Months file shows at 25th January, an increase of about 13,700 above normal. (3) The Dead File shows no increase above normal at that date. (4) The outside limit of the extra-normal number of persons who ceased to register because they were disallowed benefit, and no longer appear in the official weekly statistics of Persons on the Registers" is, therefore, 13,700. The monthly statistics of "Insured Persons Unemployed " include these persons. (5) The figures in (4) include some persons who, for various reasons, should not be counted as unemployed, e.g., because they have obtained work in an uninsured trade or are engaged in domestic duties. (6) The number of persons who ceased to register on account of stricter benefit conditions, though remaining unemployed, is therefore less than 13,700 and probably not more than 10,000. (56705) Wt. 26294-P65 1250 3/26 H. St. G 7 DILU DROIT Wireless Broadcasting Service. Copy of Agreement dated 9th November 1926 between the Postmaster General and the British Broadcasting Company Ltd. providing for the transfer of the Broadcasting Service on the 1st January 1927. Presented to Parliament by LONDON: PUBLISHED BY HIS MAJESTY'S STATIONERY OFFICE. To be purchased directly from H.M. STATIONERY OFFICE at the following addresses: |