§ 19. Mr. Wainwrightasked the Minister of Labour how many youths under the age of 18 years were unemployed, at the latest available date, in the Mexborough and Wombwell employment exchange areas.
§ Mr. WhitelawOn 13th January, 44 boys at Mexborough and 12 at Wombwell.
§ Mr. WainwrightCan the Minister tell the House how many boys and girls in the district are having intermittent periods of work because of the non-permanent jobs available there? Secondly, can he say what opportunities are to be provided for youths in the near future and whether the Government training scheme will be used to their advantage? Finally, are any of the youths from Baker and Bessemer still out of work?
§ Mr. WhitelawI could not give answers to the hon. Gentleman's first and last points in that supplementary question without notice, but I undertake to write to him about them. On the other points which he makes, the answer is that there is a considerable number of vacancies for boys in these areas, but, of course, they are largely in coal mining. I appreciate that there is a need to diversify the employment opportunities, and that, of course, is our object. I hope that the good results of the Industrial Training Bill will be felt in the area.