§ 5. Mr. Ridleyasked the Minister of Labour if he will carry out an investigation into the exact circumstances of those registered as unemployed at a particular time, to see how many are retired, how many are on holiday, and how many are not genuinely seeking work.
§ Mrs. Shirley WilliamsOur Department recently carried out a survey of workers registered as unemployed the main purpose of which was to assess their prospects of securing employment. An initial report on this survey, including information on attitudes to work, was published in the April issue of the Ministry of Labour Gazette.
§ Mr. RidleyI am grateful to the hon. Lady for sending me a copy of that survey. It was most revealing. Would she not agree that the figures are beginning to bear less and less relationship to the actual state and number of people who are looking for work? Does she not feel that if those different categories were excluded it would help to show what the real figures are? Will she consider again adopting the solution that I put forward?
§ Mrs. WilliamsI have noted the point in the hon. Member's Question. It is our view that these are correct figures, in the sense that they represent people who are genuinely seeking work. But he will recognise that the survey showed that some groups within these categories find it difficult to get work owing to age and, in particular, some physical disability.