§ 16. Mr. Christopher Priceasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many teachers who com- 562 pleted their training in July failed to find employment at the beginning of the autumn term.
§ Mrs. Shirley WilliamsI have no evidence of any appreciable number of such teachers being unable to find posts.
§ Mr. PriceIs my hon. Friend aware that many of us are relieved that some of the scare stories which were going around in the summer have not proved true, but will she pay particular attention to those teachers who have been trained as mature students and who are, to a large extent, immobile; it would be tragic if, just when they are trained, they cannot find a post because they live in a certain area?
§ Mrs. WilliamsYes, Sir. In the middle of August there were still 20 authorities looking for teachers; these included authorities which have suffered from serious teacher shortages for many years. In reply to the second part of the Question, it is true that immobile teachers are likely to meet the greatest difficulty in finding posts, and we very much commend the attitude of those local education authorities which have decided to give some preference to immobile teachers in order to release mobile teachers for areas which are still desperately understaffed.