The continuance of unemployment necessitated still further efforts, and in the autumn of 1921 the Government, with the assistance of the Ministry of Transport, again took action. It was decided to allocate a further sum of £2,000,000 from the Road Fund for road works in areas in which the Ministry of Labour certified that serious unemployment existed, for the relief of which no other provision was available. This sum of £2,000,000 was allocated as follows:
(1) £1,000,000 to special road schemes estimated to cost £2,250,000 in Essex and Kent to be carried out by unemployed labour resident within the County of London, the Government undertaking to provide the difference between the cost of the works £2,250,000 and the £1,000,000 contributed by the Road Fund, viz., £1,250,000 less such contributions as could be obtained from the local authorities in whose districts the roads were situated.
(2) £1,000,000 to road works in the provinces other than the schemes referred to under (1).
The allocations for the unemployment road programmes of 1920-21, and the above for 1921-22 overlapped; a readjustment was necessary. The present readjusted allocations are now as follows:
| 1. | 1920-21 Programme. | £ | |
| (1) London (Arterial Roads) | 1,139,364 | ||
| (2) Metropolitan Area | 96,437 | ||
| (3) Provinces | 2,260,093 | ||
| (4) Reserve | 489,106 | ||
| £3,985,000 | £3,065,000 Road Fund. £920,000 Exchequer Contribution. | ||
(The £920,000 Exchequer contribution represents the authorized total of commitments against the £1,200,000 provided in Sub-head B. of the Road Grants (Unemployment Relief) Vote, 1921-22; the balance viz., £280,000, has been surrendered.) | |||
| 2. | 1921-22 Programme. | ||
| (1) Special London Schemes: | |||
| (a) Road Fund | £1,000,000 | ||
| (b) Ministry of Health (U.R.) Vote | £1,250,000, | less local authorities’ contributions. | |
| (2) Other Schemes (Road Fund) | £1,935,000 | ||
| 3. | Loans to Local Authorities under Sub-head A. of Road Grants—Unemployment Relief-Vote. | ||
| (1) In respect of the schemes under the 1920-21 programme, as above, up to a total of | £3,985,000 | ||
| (2) in respect of schemes to be transferred from the 1920-21 programme to the 1921-22 programme up to a total of | 402,671 | ||
| £4,387,671 | |||
The total commitments, therefore, in respect of road works to relieve unemployment are £12,557,671, less the local authorities’ contributions under 2 (1) (b) above.
By the end of February 1922, the funds had been fully allocated to particular schemes, although in a few cases the details had not been completely settled nor the grants finally made.
The Special Metropolitan Schemes
Following the practice of 1920-21, a separate allocation was made in 1921-22 for dealing with unemployment in the Metropolitan Police Area. The distress in that area is relatively so serious that special steps had to be taken to cope with it. The conclusion, without doubt rightly come to by the Ministry of Transport, was that it was better to carry out schemes in Essex and Kent on which a large number of men could be employed than road works in the built-up metropolitan area on which only a small number could be usefully engaged. The labour engaged on these works is obtained through the Labour Exchanges in London.