§ 13. Mr. James Hamiltonasked the Secretary of State for Employment what sums his Department paid out in Scotland last year, and what is the amount paid out in 1971 to date in absolute terms and at an annual rate, respectively.
§ Mr. BryanSince this answer is somewhat complicated, I will with permission publish details in the OFFICIAL REPORT.
§ Mr. HamiltonMay I remind the Minister of State that the Secretary of State has said that he himself was disappointed and surprised by the very high unemployment figures? I and others representing the regions have been telling the hon. Gentleman for months that Government policies are inadequate to deal with the unemployment situation. Will he now recognise, on reflection, that the amount of money being paid out is a waste to the country and that the manpower could be used, if the Government's 1210 policies were changed, in order to give these people the jobs which they so earnestly desire?
§ Mr. BryanAs the hon. Gentleman knows, I took the trouble to find out what was behind his Question, and I think that even now there is a misunderstanding. The amount of money used by the Government towards generating emplayment comes from the Departments of Trade and Industry and the Environment. The spending in that direction by this Department is not particularly big. We are responsible for spending on training services and so on, and this is not relevant to the hon. Gentleman's supplementary question.
§ Following is the information:
| Sums paid out by the Department of Employment in Scotland | |
| Approximate figure in millions of £ | |
| Financial year 1970-71 | 135 |
| Six months April-September, 1971 | 66 |
| [Annual rate per year 1971-72] | 113 |
| Sums paid out by Department of Employment as agents for Department of Health and Social Security in Scotland | |
| Millions of £ | |
| Financial year 1970-71 | 37.1 |
| Six months April-September, 1971 | 25.1 |