The Achievement of the Unemployment Bill The Unemployment Bill, after
debates extending over twenty-eight days, has now passed through all its stages in the House of Commons. Open to criticism as it is in some of its provisions—and it has been criticized in these pages—it is none the less a great legislative achievement which will be among the Government's .major claims to distinction. It has cleared away all the tong-standing abuses of the dole. It has produced order where there was chaos. The insured are now safely placed upon a true insurance basis, and know precisely where they stand ; and those who have lapsed from insurance are provided with a regular procedure of relief which carries with it none of the stigma of the old Poor Law. The rates of benefit will, in purchasing power, be considerably higher than they have ever been before. The gap between the ages of leaving school and entering insurance has been closed, and the duty of providing instruction for unem- ployed children has been imposed on local authorities. And the machinery of the Bill not only makes the finance Of the scheme sound for today, but provides for adjust- ment in case the financial conditions should alter. Whilst the elimination of the services, without complete elimina- tion of the financial liability, of the local authorities is regrettable, the Government may claim to have created a comprehensive system of provision for unemployment which other countries are likely to regard as a model.
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