§ Mr. Robensasked the Minister of Labour if he will indicate the immediate prospects of placing in employment the 142 miners now out of work as a result of the closing of the New Hartly colliery, Northumberland.
§ Mr. Iain MacleodOf 135 men who have up to now registered with my local offices for employment, 6 have so far found work. Less than 50 have agreed to consider employment outside coal-mining and only 7 are prepared to consider work beyond daily travelling distance. Local opportunities are at present limited, but the National Coal Board hopes that vacancies in neighbouring collieries will be available for all the men concerned before they cease to be entitled to redundancy payments.
NUMBERS OF UNEMPLOYED PERSONS ON THE REGISTERS OF EMPLOYMENT EXCHANGES AND YOUTH EMPLOYMENT OFFICES IN LINCOLN AND LINCOLNSHIRE RESPECTIVELY AT 17TH FEBRUARY, 1958 AND 9TH FEBRUARY, 1959 Date Lincoln Rest of Lincolnshire Wholly unemployed Temporarily stopped Wholly unemployed Temporarily stopped 17th February, 1958 … … … … 683 111 5,636 303 9th February, 1959 … … … … 757 — 6,608 425 The "temporarily stopped" are persons working short-time or otherwise temporarily suspended who were not at work on the Monday to which the figures relate and who were registered at employment exchanges and youth employment offices. Precise figures of the number working short-time are not available, but it is known that about 1,300 people in Lincoln and about 1,200 in the rest of Lincolnshire are working short-time.