§ 15. Mr. Barry Jonesasked the Secretary of State for Wales what is his estimate of the number of school leavers in Flintshire in the summers of 1974 and 1975.
§ Mr. Peter ThomasAbout 2,000 in each summer.
§ Mr. JonesWhat future is there for these youngsters if steelmaking at Shotton ends? For many of them will it not be a matter of going straight from the classroom to the dole?
§ Mr. ThomasThe hon. Gentleman should not exaggerate the position. I appreciate that he is concerned about the proposed rundown of steelmaking at Shotton. This is one of the matters that the task force that I have set up in the area is looking at. It has already met representatives of the teachers' associations in the area to discuss the problem, and the points made to it will certainly be considered.
§ Mr. Michael FootWhat were the calculations made by the right hon. and learned Gentleman's Department of the effects on school leavers in Flintshire of the proposed steel closures before the right hon. and learned Gentleman agreed to those closures? As he bears responsibility and has agreed to those closures, he must then have had some reckoning of what would be the effect on school leavers among others.
§ Mr. ThomasCertainly a calculation was made. At present the British Steel 16 Corporation requires on average about 200 school leavers. Inevitably, ending steelmaking reduces the number of job opportunities for them.