§ Mr. Sproatasked the Secretary of State for Employment what estimate he has made of the cost to public funds of paying persons aged between 64 and 65 years 945W who are already unemployed to stay unemployed under the job release scheme.
§ Mr. GoldingThe main aim of the job release scheme is to allow those in assisted areas who are within a year of statutory minimum pensionable age to leave their jobs, if they wish, and create a vacancy for a younger person from the unemployed register. In equity it was thought right to give the same opportunity to those at present on the unemployed register to withdraw from the competition of job seeking at a time of high unemployment, at a net cost estimated at £7 million.
§ Mrs. Millie Millerasked the Secretary of State for Employment how many men who are fathers of eight of more children are in receipt of unemployment benefit and are making no efforts to obtain work.
§ Mr. GoldingThe information requested is not available. Unemployment benefit statistics do not enable such an analysis to be made. However one of the conditions for the receipt of unemployment benefit is that the claimant must be available for work.