§ 26. Mr. Juddasked the Secretary of State for Employment and Productivity what was the total number of people placed in employment vacancies in Portsmouth by her Department in the year ended 31st March, 1970.
§ Mr. DellBetween 6th March, 1969, and 4th March, 1970, 17,732 persons were placed in employment by employment exchanges and youth employment service careers offices in Portsmouth, Fareham, Gosport and Havant.
§ Mr. JuddWhile again thanking my right hon. Friend, may I ask whether he will accept that there is widespread respect and appreciation for the dedicated work of his officers, often in difficult circumstances, and that throughout the House there is every possible support for all that they endeavour to do?
§ Mr. DellI am grateful to my hon. Friend for those remarks. They will be greatly appreciated by the officers to whom he has referred.
§ Sir Harmar NichollsWhy does the right hon. Gentleman keep repeating the bromide put out by the Chancellor of the Exchequer about a drop in unemployment? Since the right hon. Gentleman spoke, the figures have gone up. Does not the situation emphasise the fact that no attention can be paid to these pre-election fantasies, which are designed to do nothing other than mislead the public?
§ Mr. DellIf the hon. Gentleman chooses to talk about pre-election fantasies, one need only consider the programmes of the party opposite, in so far as it is possible to identify them.
§ Mr. Dudley SmithIs not the underlying trend towards long-term unemployment?
§ Mr. DellI do not see the relevance of that to this Question. However, as I have indicated, the change in the country's industrial structure has created a serious problem of unemployment amongst older people. We are doing everything that can be done about it. The hon. Gentleman will be aware especially of what we have done about older people made redundant as a result of coal mining closures.