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9
which have taken place in the borough during the past
year.
The outstanding fact has been the widespread and
increasing unemployment, which, while generally prevalent
throughout the country, has fallen with special
severity on the residents of Bethnal Green. On the
13th January, 1930, it was estimated that 5·9 per cent.
of the insured population (8·6 per cent. among the
men) were unemployed, as compared with 5·3 and 7·0
per cent. respectively throughout London as a whole.
The situation steadily worsened during the year, and
on the 12th January, 1931, 15·7 per cent. of the insured
population (22·4 per cent. among the men) were unemployed,
as compared with 10·7 and 13·5 per cent.
respectively in London generally. Very little imagination
is necessary to see the serious social degeneration
which must follow from such a state of things,
involving the enforced idleness and impoverishment at
the end of the year of over 5,000 men and 1,000 women,
apart from young persons, out of an estimated insured
population of 44,000.
Since last year the administration of public
assistance has been transferred from the old Board of
Guardians to the London County Council. I have
been furnished, by the courtesy of the local Public
Assistance Officer, with the following figures concerning
public assistance granted during the year. Owing,
however, to the different methods employed in granting
relief and the way in which the records are now compiled,
comparison or quantitative measurement is somewhat
difficult. It will be noted that although there
was a steady worsening of employment during the
year, as indicated by figures just given, there appeal's
actually to have been a slight diminution in the number
of persons and families relieved.