§ Mr. Knoxasked the Secretary of State for Employment how many young people who left school in the summer of 1977 are still without work in the Leek parliamentary constituency; and what was the comparable figure in 1974 for those who left school in the summer of 1973.
§ Mr. GoldingOn 12th January 1978 there were 28 school leavers under 18 unemployed in the Leek parliamentary constituency, comprising the Leek, Cheadle and Biddulph employment office areas. The statistics do not distinguish between the different dates of school-leaving, but the majority will have left on or after 27th May 1977. There were no school leavers under 18 unemployed in January 1974, but this figure is not directly comparable, since the numbers leaving school in 1973 were much reduced as a result of the raising of the school leaving age in that year.