§ 14. Mr. George Jegerasked the Secretary of State for Employment and Productivity what are the latest figures of unemployment of adults and school-leavers in the Thorne district; and how these compare with the national average.
§ Mr. FernyhoughAt 14th October there were 833 adults and 111 young persons, of whom 40 were school-leavers registered as unemployed in the area covered by the Thorne employment exchange. The unemployment rate in the Doncaster, Askern and Thorne travel to work area was 4.3 per cent (provisional). On 9th September, the latest date for which comparable national figures are available, the rate was 4.4 per cent. and the corresponding figure for Great Britain was 2.3 per cent.
§ Mr. JegerHas the hon. Gentleman now found a defence for the 11 per cent. unemployment in Thorne by a statistical swindle by amalgamating Thorne and two other areas of much lower unemployment? Why will he not persist in doing what he promised to do some time ago, and adopt special measures to help the 11 per cent. unemployed at Thorne?
§ Mr. FernyhoughI am sorry that my hon. Friend should question my integrity, because that is what this implies. I would not allow anyone to "cook" any books. What happened with regard to travel-to-work areas in Thorne has happened up and down the country, as successive Governments have tried to give a more realistic figure on an area basis. I know how deeply my hon. Friend feels about the Thorne problem, but he knows that the Board of Trade will look sympathetically at requests for industrial development certificates which may be required within the area.