§ 9. Mr. Montgomeryasked the Secretary of State for Employment what arrangements exist for the rescuing of apprentices left stranded by employers going out of business; and how many apprentices have been helped by such measures in recent years.
§ Mr. Peter MorrisonGovernment support is currently available through industry training organisations to help employers recruit and complete the training of apprentices who are made redundant. About 16,500 such apprentices have been helped over the past five years.
§ Mr. MontgomeryCan my hon. Friend give an assurance that the Government will do everything possible to help apprentices who, through no fault of their own, find themselves in that unfortunate position? Can he tell us by how much the adoption grants have been increased?
§ Mr. MorrisonI assure my hon. Friend that we take the plight of redundant apprentices very seriously. The maximum figure for the adoption grant has been increased from £1,500 to £2,250.
§ Mr. AshtonWill the Minister tell us what he is doing for the apprentices who cannot work because pits are closed by the National Coal Board? Is he aware that in Yorkshire, where apprentices are not on strike and turn up and sign on for work, the Department of Employment classes them as unemployed, yet in Nottinghamshire they are classed as not unemployed? Can the Minister explain why, in one county apprentices benefit while the others do not, although the pits are only five miles apart, and why his Department refuses to do anything about it? Why is there such anomaly and maladministration?
§ Mr. MorrisonAs the hon. Gentleman realises, it would be better to have no industrial action in pits throughout the country. The hon. Gentleman should realise that the difficulties faced by mining apprentices would not arise if that were the case.