§ 9. Mr. RiddickTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment what progress has been made on employment training in Yorkshire since its inception; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. FowlerEmployment training continues to make excellent progress in Yorkshire. Almost 20,000 people are currently in training. This reflects the success of employment training across the country.
§ Mr. RiddickDoes not that reply show that employment training is proving highly successful in the Yorkshire area—perhaps more so there than in any other area of the United Kingdom? Would my right hon. Friend care to join me in congratulating the training agencies in and near my constituency—for example, the Kirklees chamber of commerce—for responding so positively to the challenges presented to them by employment training?
§ Mr. FowlerI entirely endorse what my hon. Friend says, particularly about Kirklees chamber of commerce, which I know and admire. I am glad to say that in Yorkshire generally, unemployment has fallen by an average 24 per cent. in the past 12 months.
§ Mr. HardyThere may be some effective operations in Yorkshire, but does the Secretary of State accept that he should be aware—if he is not, some of his colleagues in the Department should be—that there are grounds for serious concern in certain parts of Yorkshire, and certainly in the metropolitan area of Rotherham, which deserve serious attention?
§ Mr. FowlerI shall certainly look into any points that the hon. Gentleman wants me to consider. After only eight months in operation employment training now has about 185,000 people in training—the best start for any adult training programme that we have ever launched.