HC Deb 03 February 1972 vol 830 cc665-6
20. Mr. Green

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many construction workers were placed in employment by his Department during the last 12 months; and what proportion these represent of the vacancies for construction workers notified during the same period.

Mr. Dudley Smith

The precise information is not available but for the occupations most closely associated with the construction industry the number of men placed in employment by employment exchanges during the 12 months ended 1st December, 1971, was 152,858. Expressed as a percentage of all vacancies for men in these occupations notified to my Department the figure was 71.5.

Mr. Green

Is it not likely that in the coming months the construction industry will be one of those in which there will be shortages in certain skills and trades? Does not that underline the value and urgency of the Government's retraining proposals?

Mr. Smith

Yes, Sir, it certainly does. As the economy picks up, those shortages will be accentuated. Not all vacancies are notified to my Department, alas. We believe there are far more in the construction industry than are revealed by the current figures. As stated in "People and Jobs" we are doing quite a lot to try to improve the notification of vacancies to the Department.

Mr. Freeson

Is the Minister aware that if the Government decided to increase investment in public sector housing starts, so that 100,000 more starts were undertaken this year, there could be a reduction of at least two-thirds in the total number of unemployed in the building industry in the coming 12 months?

Mr. Smith

The hon. Gentleman, as a former Minister, knows that is not a question for me. However, if he refers to the present Government's record on housing so far, he will see that it bears very favourable comparison with that of the previous Administration.