§ 31. Mr. Rossasked the Minister of Labour if he will state the total number 594 of unemployed in Ayrshire; and how many of these are registered in districts not scheduled under the Local Employment Act.
§ Mr. WhitelawOn 15th October, 5,637 of whom 2,484 are not in development districts.
§ Mr. RossIs it not evident from these figures that the Local Employment Act is not effective in dealing with the Ayrshire problem? Will the Parliamentary Secretary bear in mind that the situation is going to be aggravated by further losses of employment in the mines and on the railways, and will he say what the Government are going to do about it? I ask him not to, tell me that they are going to do "all we can".
§ Mr. WhitelawI am not going to tell the hon. Gentleman that. What I am going to tell him is this. He is always screaming for the right priorities and that is exactly what the Government are trying to do in operating the Local Employment Act. The figures do not bear out what the hon. Gentleman said. In Ayrshire as a whole the rate of unemployment was 4.4 per cent., and in the areas which are not development districts the rate was 3.2 per cent. It would seem, therefore, that the priorities are going somewhat right.
§ Mr. RossWhat are the Government going to do with the 2,484 unemployed who are outwith the scheduled areas?
§ Mr. WhitelawWe are going to do our best to place them in suitable employment. Also, as the hon. Gentleman must be aware, it is possible to travel some distance to some of the places outside the development districts where jobs are available in the travel-to-work areas.
§ Mr. SpeakerI think this must be a question for the hon. Gentleman's next one.