H.—35.

The average weekly amount refunded to local employing authorities in respect of relief paid to unemployed engaged under Scheme No. 5 during the months of July, August, and September, 1932, was approximately £65,000. Towards the end of September the Board reviewed the position as regards the maximum rates of relief payable per day —viz., 9s. for single men and 12s. 6d. for married men, still obtaining in districts outside the four main urban areas. It was decided to alter such rates to 7s. 6d. and 10s. per day for single and married men respectively, thus bringing them into line with the amended daily rates in the four urban areas and with ruling rates of pay in the Public Works Department. At the same time the periods of employment were proportionately increased so that relief workers in these districts suffered no monetary loss as a result of the revision. Alterations in Scope of Scheme. —Variations other than those affecting the general scale of relief have been made in the original rules of Scheme No. 5, principally in the direction of extending the classes of employing authorities where work of a genuinely reproductive nature is made available ; of modifying the rules as to the amount of relief work which may be authorized; and of altering the periods in which such work may be performed in special cases where the nature and location of the work preclude engagement of men on an intermittent basis. The Board now permits the employment of men for continuous periods equivalent to the ration of relief work they would ordinarily have received over a four-weekly period. At the termination of such continuous employment the men stand down for the remainder of the period. This arrangement has permitted many employing authorities to undertake land-drainage, river-protection work, afforestation, and improvement of ba'ckblocks roads by accommodating the men on the job, and thus reducing transport costs to a minimum. Other difficulties in the way of utilizing relief labour on reproductive work of a nature that it is undesirable to interrupt after commencement have been removed by the Board in an endeavour to benefit all concerned. The Board's general policy in respect of such works is to offer to meet the cost of employing men full time (usually forty hours per week). This cost represents the maximum ration of relief work which may be granted. Funds are allotted separately for work of this nature ; and, as a general rule, preference is given to the employment of married men. A great deal of developmental work, such as clearing of stumps, logs, scrub, &c., repair of flood damage and other useful work, has been done by this means, resulting not only in benefit to the districts affected, but indirectly to the whole Dominion, whilst the men themselves receive increased monetary assistance during the time they are so employed. In Auckland Province some hundreds of men have been drafted from Auckland City to country work on these terms, the local bodies making arrangements for camping facilities or other suitable accommodation, with the men " finding " themselves and making suitable provision from their relief money for the support of their wives and families. A further innovation under Scheme 5 facilitated by the passing of the Finance Act, 1931 (No. 4), Part 2, made possible the employment of Scheme 5 labour by local authorities for the benefit of private property. As farmers in general were unable, because of the depression, to meet the whole cost of labour in carrying out much developmental work that was available on farm lands, the Board invoked the co-operation of employing local bodies, principally County Councils, towards the employment in approved cases of such labour on farms. Conditions imposed were that the work to be performed should be of a reproductive nature, such as drainage, creek-clearing, land-clearing, and general land-development; and that the extent of the work was not sufficient to warrant the continuous employment of, or that no accommodation was available for, a relief worker under Scheme 4a. The main consideration was that no regular farm employee should be displaced by a relief worker. Provided this and lesser conditions were complied with the Board facilitated the transfer of relief labour to useful work on private properties. Under this arrangement, which has been extensively availed of, a considerable amount of farmimprovement work has been carried out. Much of this work, particularly land-drainage and noxiousweed destruction, benefits the district generally as well as the individual occupier. Under this variation of Scheme 5 local bodies remain the employing authorities, and, generally speaking, the men's remuneration is met from the Unemployment Fund. It is permissible for a local body to secure a contribution from the farmer sufficient to reimburse it for any outlay on supervision, transport, insurance, &c., incurred in carrying out the work. Such contribution may be in cash or by means of a special rate spread over a period. By mutual consent relief workers may work for the farmer after their ordinary relief ration of work is completed in return for extra remuneration, either in cash or kind, or both. If the value of work done on private properties under this variation of Scheme 5 is such that after making provision to refund any expense to which the local bodies have been put, the owners are in a position to contribute towards the cost of the work, steps are taken to secure a refund to the Unemployment Board of the whole or of a portion of the cost, either at the time or within some future period. Classification of Work -performed under Scheme 5. —Prior to October, 1931, there were no means of ascertaining without special inquiry the numbers of men employed under Scheme 5 according to the class of work on which they were engaged. With the institution in that month of a return from all certifying officers, such information has since been available, and is of considerable interest in - showing how the numbers on reproductive or developmental work have increased in the last twelve months, particularly when it is remembered that almost one-half of the men on Scheme 5 are to be found in or adjacent to the four main centres of population where it is practically impossible to employ them on any class of work which will benefit the Dominion's primary industries. Following is a table showing the approximate numbers and proportions of men employed on various classes of work under Scheme 5 during the months of December, 1931, March, June, and September, 1932. It will be noted that the proportions engaged on reproductive work rose from 24-3 per cent, in December of last year to 38-8 per cent, in June, 1932, with a slight fall to

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