HC Deb 24 February 1981 vol 999 cc730-2
5. Mr. Dubs

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what is his latest estimate of the number of young people who have never had a full-time job since completing their education.

Mr. Prior

At 12 February, the provisional number of unemployed young people under 18 years of age in the United Kingdom who had not been in employment since completing full-time education was 90,075. This is the group of young people which the youth opportunities programme is designed to help, and in 1981–82 the programme will provide 440,000 opportunities for training and work experience.

Mr. Dubs

Does the Minister agree that the figures are unacceptably high and that we are leaving young people to wander the streets and, perhaps, get in trouble with the law? Can he guarantee that every one of those young people will be found a place on the youth opportunities programme? If so, when?

Mr. Prior

We want to see every young person with a proper job. Of the 715,000 young people who left school last year, by Christmas 90,000 were still unemployed and 80,000 were in the youth opportunities programme. By Easter, when the guarantee for last year is complete, it should still have been possible to offer all the young people who left school last summer a place on the programme. We are expanding the programme and should be able to do considerably better over guarantees and the time when young people can be on the scheme next year.

Sir William Elliott

Is my right hon. Friend aware that by the end of March 90,000 young people in the Northern region will have been through a job opportunities scheme? Is he further aware that about half of those are now in full employment? Will he suggest that it is an excellent thing to encourage more young people to take part-time employment through the scheme rather than to seek full-time employment and then get into a state of frustration?

Mr. Prior

Yes. I think that, particularly in a difficult area such as the North-East, it has been remarkable how well the scheme has kept up. We want more employers to take advantage of the scheme. We want a greater element of training in each scheme so that we equip the younger generation at a very difficult time for the jobs of tomorrow.

Mr. Radice

While congratulating those responsible for the youth opportunities programme on what has been done, may I ask whether the right hon. Gentleman agrees that the prospects for young people must be extremely bad when there is only one vacancy for every 50 registered unemloyed? When will he tell his right hon. Friend the Prime Minister that enough is enough?

Mr. Prior

The purpose of the schemes that we are running, and of the youth opportunities programmes in particular, is to deal with what would otherwise be an intolerable situation. That is the importance of stepping up the scheme mext year to 440,000 places from the 185,000 places of two years ago. This month, 926,000 people are receiving help in one way or another in their jobs. This shows that the Government are doing all that they can in very difficult circumstances.

Mr. Madel

On the subject of the careers advice that young people receive during their last year at school, will my right hon. Friend ask the Manpower Services Commission to improve its liaison with schools as the current YOP programmes have a much greater skill content and are of obvious benefit to school leavers?

Mr. Prior

The more we can stress this, the better it will be. We have appointed a number of additional careers officers with this very much in mind. We shall not be content until everyone has the chance either of a YOP place or of a proper job.