benefit, so as to remove the major part of the grievance relating to the disqualification of persons alleged to be "not genuinely seeking work", which led to greater numbers of people acquiring unemployment assistance. Other measures carried out in 1929–30 included the Road Traffic Act (which introduced third party insurance to compensate for property damage and personal injury, made better provisions for road safety, provided greater freedom to municipalities to run omnibus services, the principle of the Fair Wage Clause was applied to all employees on road passenger services, and placed a statutory limit on the working hours of drivers), the Land Drainage Act (which provided some degree of progress in river management), the Public Works Facilities Act (conferring easier borrowing powers), the Workmen's Compensation (Silicosis and Asbestosis) Act of 1930 (which established disability compensation for asbestos) and the Mental Treatment Act 1930. The 1930 Labour budget provided for largely increased expenditure, contained measures to prevent tax evasion, raised the standard rate of income tax as well as the surtax while making concessions to the smaller taxpayer. A town and country planning act gave local authorities more power to control local and regional planning, while the Housing (Rural Authorities) Act of 1931 provided a sum of 2 million pounds to help the poorer rural districts which were willing but unable to fulfil their housing responsibilities. In addition, an Act passed by the previous Conservative government providing assistance towards the improvement of privately owned cottages for land workers was extended for another 5 years. To protect farm workers from exploitation, additional inspectors were appointed in 1929 to investigate "cases of refusal to pay minimum wages," and as a result of the work carried out by these investigators, wage arrears were recovered for 307 workers with the space of a few months. In addition, levels of support for war veterans and family members were expanded. In education, various measures were introduced to promote equality and opportunity. More generous standards of school-planning were secured, while special attention was given to the provision of adequate accommodation for practical work. The number of “black-listed” schools was reduced from about 2,000 to about 1,500. From 1929 to 1931, the number of certified teachers in service was increased by about 3,000, while the number of classes with more than 50 children was reduced by about 2,000. Capital expenditure on elementary school building approved by the Board of