§ 20. Mr. Brittanasked the Secretary of State for Employment how many jobs for school leavers will be created by the job creation programme in Cleveland and North Yorkshire.
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§ Mr. John FraserThe Manpower Services Commission's job creation programme will provide up to 15,000 jobs, and priority will be given to young people. The distribution of jobs throughout the country will depend on potential sponsors in each locality coming forward with suitable labour intensive projects. I understand from the Commission that it anticipates a good response from Cleveland and North Yorkshire, and any proposals from these areas will be given urgent consideration.
§ 24. Miss Fookesasked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on the employment prospects for school leavers both nationally and in the Plymouth district.
§ Mr. John FraserSince August the numbers of school leavers registered as unemployed have fallen by 773 in Plymouth and by 92,911 in Great Britain. This shows that even in the currently difficult employment situation unemployed school leavers are finding jobs at a rate which compares favourably with previous years. Although there are no grounds for complacency I expect that the great majority of this summer's leavers will have entered employment or training by the end of the year. In Plymouth, as in all areas, these prospects will be improved by the special measures introduced by the Government to sustain employment and training opportunities.
§ Mr. Rifkindasked the Secretary of State for Employment whether he is satisfied with the success of the Government's efforts to ensure employment for school leavers in Scotland.
§ Mr. John FraserI cannot feel satisfied whilst so many school leavers remain unemployed, and it is too early to judge the success of the Government's measures. But I am confident that they will greatly improve the prospects of school leavers in Scotland, as elsewhere.
§ 29. Mr. Andrew F. Bennettasked the Secretary of State for Employment what is the incidence of unemployment on black school leavers compared with white school leavers.
§ Mr. John FraserThe latest analysis of those registered as unemployed at careers offices, who are predominantly 459W young people but not all school leavers, showed that 1,451 out of 190,086 people so registered in August 1975, about 0.8 per cent., were from ethnic minorities.
§ 31. Mr. Gouldasked the Secretary of State for Employment what is the level of unemployment amongst school leavers in Southampton.
§ Mr. John FraserThe provisional figures for October 1975 show 259 school leavers registered as unemployed in Southampton.
§ 39. Mr. Whiteheadasked the Secretary of State for Employment what plans he has for alleviating the continuing unemployment of 1976 school leavers.
§ Mr. John FraserIt is much too early to assess the prospects for 1976 school leavers, and my right hon. Friend's main concern at present must be to help 1975 leavers and other young people who are unemployed. But most of the special measures introduced by the Government—including extended training plans, the job creation programme, the enlarged community industry scheme, and the strengthening of the careers service—will be continued during the 1976–77 financial year.
§ 49. Mr. Stallardasked the Secretary of State for Employment what has been the effect of the introduction of a recruitment subsidy for school leavers.
§ Mr. John FraserThe recruitment subsidy for school leavers scheme appears to have been generally welcomed in all parts of the country. In general average terms it seems that up to a third of vacancies notified during the first two weeks of the scheme would be suitable for young people eligible to attract subsidy.
§ 53. Mr. D. E. Thomasasked the Secretary of State for Employment whether he is satisfied that the present structure of pre-employment courses for unemployed school leavers meets the requirement of rural areas such as Merioneth.
§ Mr. Harold WalkerI am assured by the Manpower Services Commission that the Training Services Agency and the industrial training boards are prepared to provide facilities in rural areas, with due460W regard to the interests of school leavers and the needs of employers.
§ Mr. Kilroy-Silkasked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on the job prospects in Kirkby and on Merseyside for school leavers in the current year and indicate what effect the recently announced Government measures are likely to have in reducing the number of unemployed; and what further measures are proposed.
§ Mr. John FraserSince August the number of school leavers registered as unemployed in the Merseyside metropolitan county, including Kirkby, has fallen by 5,309. This shows that despite the difficult employment situation on Merseyside school leavers are finding jobs at a rate which compares favourably with previous years. I am, therefore, hopeful that the majority of this summer's school leavers will have entered employment or training by the end of the year.
It is too early to judge the success of the Government's special measures, but they have already brought some relief. About 500 young people in Merseyside have been accepted for training under ITB award schemes; almost 700 are being trained on various courses provided by the Training Services Agency; and a further 50 places have been authorised for the Liverpool Community Industry team. The Job Creation Unit of the Manpower Services Commission has set up an action committee on Merseyside to give urgent consideration to further job creation projects.