47. Mr. J. T. Hallasked the Minister of Labour what steps are being taken to find employment for the exceptional number of men and women who have been out of work for a long period in the towns of Gateshead; and especially the men and women who have been unemployed for more than six months, and who are more than 50 years of age.
§ Sir W. MoncktonA considerable amount of new employment is expected to accrue from firms already established in the Gateshead area, and our efforts to create further new employment are continuing. Men and women in Gateshead who have been long unemployed and who may be in need of physical restoration and vocational guidance to assist them to obtain employment can be admitted to the nearby industrial rehabilitation unit at Felling. The special difficulty which older men and women have in finding employment applies, unfortunately, throughout the country, and I am looking to the National Advisory Committee on the Employment of Older Men and Women, over which my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary presides, to help to widen the opportunities of employment for older people.
Mr. HallDoes the Minister not think that he must make special efforts to try to get these people working, otherwise they will be out of work for the rest of their lives?
§ Sir W. MoncktonI am fully aware of the difficulties: I have been to the area to see for myself. I have been in consultation with the President of the Board of Trade, and we have considerable hope that firms which have gone there have not reached the peak of their labour requirements, and that the situation will improve.