asked the Minister of Labour the number of men and women who have been unemployed for six months, 12 months and 18 months, respectively.

At 9th December, 1946, the latest date for which figures are available, 40,700 insured men and 8,600 insured women in Great Britain had been continuously unemployed for six to 12 months, and 25,000 men and 3,500 women for more than 12 months. Statistics showing the numbers who had been unemployed for more than 18 months are not available.

Is the Minister able to tell us what he proposes to do about this hard core of unemployment?

These figures exclude employees of the public service in manufacturing and trading establishments such as shipyards, gas works, etc.