§ 21. Mr. Boydenasked the Minister of Labour how many men and boys are registered as unemployed at the Bishop Auckland local office; what percentage rate this is; and how these figures compare with the same date in 1961 and with January, 1962.
§ Mr. WhitelawAt 15th October, 1962, 638 men and 162 boys. The percentage rate for men and boys in the South-West Dunham travel-to-work area was 65. The corresponding figures for October, 1961, and January, 1962, were 418 men, 28 boys and 3.9 per cent. and 573 men, 58 boys and 5.8 per cent., respectively.
§ Mr. BoydenBut this is terrible. The Parliamentary Secretary deliberately left out the figure for the Bishop Auckland local office. The percentage is high as it is, but it must be even higher with the inclusion of that office. What are the Government doing about it? Can they not make representations about the power station in Durham and representations to the Ministry of Housing and Local Government to clear away some of the derelict industrial rubbish in the area?
§ Mr. WhitelawThe hon. Member must be fair. He surely knows very weld that we do not quote percentage figures for specific local offices but for travel-to-work areas, and I think that he knows the reason Why. I share the hon. Member's concern about unemployment in the area. We are doing all we can to encourage industrial development and, as I think the hon. Member knows, there are some jobs in prospect.