HC Deb 30 January 1973 vol 849 cc1147-9
13. Mr. Ralph Howell

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what are the terms of reference of the working group to study the characteristics of the unemployed.

19. Mr. Michael Shaw

asked the Secretary of State for Employment whether the report of the working group to study the characteristics of the unemployed will be published and, if so, when.

Mr. Dudley Smith

The working group will make detailed and objective studies of the characteristics of the unemployed and will also consider what extra information can be obtained to improve our understanding of these characteristics. I will arrange for any results of general interest to be published, but I do not think it advisable to set a time limit to this important work.

Mr. Howell

I thank my hon. Friend for that reply. Will he tell us more about this working group? Does it consist only of civil servants? Are they all from his Department? What provision has been made for hon. Members and other people to give evidence to this working group?

Mr. Smith

The main burden of the work will fall on officials of Government Departments—my Department, the Department of Health and Social Security and the Office of Population, Censuses and Surveys. The work will be largely technical, but it will cover a wide range. The criteria to be considered will include all the usual questions—age, sex, duration of current spell of unemployment, time in last job, the reasons for leaving the last job, the occupation, past spells of unemployment, whether a person is in receipt of an occupational pension, and many other matters too numerous to go into at this moment. As I said, it will be largely technical, but it will be extremely valuable in the longer term. We shall be pleased to hear from any hon. Member who would care to contact us. preferably in writing, because the group wishes to see us, and I will arrange it.

Mr. Shaw

Will my hon. Friend confirm that this group will look into the special problems of the unemployed in seaside towns, particularly with regard to seasonal unemployment and opportunities for young people?

Mr. Smith

Yes. This is an important point. I will certainly call its attention to the problem of seaside workers. The list that I gave includes occupational pensions, age groups, and so on. This applies particularly to areas like Scarborough and Whitby. I hope the group will be very thorough in its investigations.

Mr. Golding

Will this survey cover those without work who live on unearned incomes, or is it to be confined only to those who are registered unemployed?

Mr. Smith

It will be confined primarily to those who are registered unemployed. We are also looking generally at the whole problem of those who are unemployed but who may not necessarily be registered for various reasons. Primarily it will be those who are on the register, because their need is obviously the greatest.