§ Mr. Maddenasked the Secretary of State for Employment how many people so far have taken advantage of the job release scheme in Yorkshire and Humberside; and what have been the recent changes to the scheme.
§ Mr. GoldingUp to 20 March, 8,618 applications under the job release scheme had been accepted in Yorkshire and Humberside.
The scheme has recently been extended for a further period of 12 months from 1 April 1979 to 31 March 1980. Following are the changes to the scheme which I announced on 8 March:
- (1) From 1 May 1979 the eligible age for men will be reduced from 64 to 62 and to 60 for disabled men; the eligible age for women will remain at 59.
801 - (2) From 1 April 1979 the basic job release allowance was increased to £31.50 a week tax-free and the allowance for a married person with a dependent husband or wife to £40. The allowances will be taxed from 6 April 1980 but their value will be increased so that on average there will be no loss to recipients.
§ Mr. Maddenasked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list the present national unemployment rate in percentage terms for Yorkshire and Humberside and for each travel-to-work area in Calderdale, West Yorkshire.
§ Mr. GoldingFollowing is the information at 8 March 1979:
Per cent. Great Britain 5.7 Yorkshire and Humberside 5.9 Halifax travel-to-work area 4.0 Todmorden employment office area 4.6