§ 10. Mr. Flanneryasked the Paymaster General what is the figure of unemployment in the Sheffield travel-to-work area; and what percentage this is of the potential work force.
§ Mr. LangOn 12 June 1986 the number of unemployed claimants in the Sheffield travel-to-work area was 46,700, which represents a local unemployment rate of 16.1 per cent.
§ Mr. FlanneryDoes the Minister remember the poster put out during the 1979 election campaign, to try to prove to the people that the Tories would get them all back to work? Will he undertake to come to the great east end of Sheffield, which lies so still and quiet, remembering only the promises made at that time? Will he hold out to our people some hope of returning to work? Will he come and see what his Government have done to working people? There are 16.9 per cent. out of work, and many others too, although the Government will not admit it.
§ Mr. LangWe are certainly concerned about the level of unemployment in Sheffield and elsewhere. I regularly visit Sheffield. On one recent visit I called in at the job club at Woodhouse. The hon. Gentleman may care to know that that club enjoys considerable success, placing 78 per cent. of its members in jobs.
§ Mr. DickensDid we not come to office in the face of a world recession? Did we not come to office to be faced with over-manning through the cosy arrangements of the Socialists and the Lib-Lab pact? Did we not have to face the bulge year for school leavers? Have we not outstripped the rest of Europe in job creation? Are there not more people working today than ever before? Is not 1987 likely to be a good year for getting people back to work?
§ Mr. LangIn spite of the difficulties described by my hon. Friend, we have managed to ensure that over 5,000 people in the Sheffield area are benefiting from the youth training scheme and over 5,000 from the community programme. We have also managed to make sure that Sheffield has benefited from £8.5 million in regional assistance since 1979, and has been allocated over £4 million under the urban programme for the current year.
§ Mr. DuffyIs the Minister aware that the recently published report of the Sheffield careers service declares that there is no real improvement in employment opportunities for young people? Last year—the seventh year of Tory Government — it had the dubious distinction of returning the highest recorded figures for youth unemployment in the history of Sheffield. Which of the Government's policies will relieve those figures?
§ Mr. LangI have just referred to 5,000 places under the youth training scheme. Under the two-year scheme, the number of places in the current year will be 6,000. The number of unfilled vacancies at jobcentres in the area has risen by 53 per cent.