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58
They had also received a deputation from the Camberwell
Local Employment Committee which urged the Council to explore
every avenue with a view to the provision of work for the Camberwell
men who were out of employment. It was stated, inter alia,
that the live register for the Camberwell Exchange was then 4,441
men and 1,759 women, as compared with 2,620 men and 918
women unemployed at the same time in 1929. The number of
juvenile unemployed was about the same at both periods. A sum
of approximately £5,000 per week was being paid in unemployment
benefit.
The deputation stated that they did not propose to suggest
any schemes of work, but rather to leave that to the Council as
being cognisant of suitable works and their own capacity to carry
them out.
Apart from the painting of the Public Baths, for which arrangements
had already been made, the Finance Committee had no
suggestions to make at that time for the submission of special
schemes, but they recalled that they had asked the County Council
to put in hand, with a view to providing work for the unemployed,
the completion of the New Road from the Newlands to Brockley on
the line of the Brockley Footpath in continuation of the road constructed
by this Council from Forest Hill Road to the Newlands.
A reply had, however, been received from the London County
Council stating that they were not prepared to vary their previous
decisions not to undertake the construction of the proposed road.
Upon the recommendation of the Committee, the Council
decided to receive the communications above mentioned.
Subsequently the Council appointed a Joint Sub-Committee
consisting of members of the Finance and Works Committees, to
consider road works which might be specially put in hand during
the winter of 1930-31 for the relief of unemployment under the
provisions of the Unemployment Grants Committee's Circular
No. 26, and at their meeting in December they had before them the
Report of such Joint Sub-Committee.
The Sub-Committee reported that they had considered the
Circular issued by the Ministry of Transport with regard to Works
of Improvement and New Construction of Classified Roads, together
with the possibility of advancing maintenance work on roads for
the purpose of receiving grants-in-aid from the Unemployment
Grants Committee, and the Town Clerk and the Borough Treasurer
and Controller and the Borough Engineer and Surveyor submitted
the report of an interview which they had with the Divisional
Road Engineer for the County of London. In the course of this
report, the Chief Officers stated that they were informed that
no Grant could be made for any work in the nature of maintenance
whether it was in advance of the ordinary programme or not.