§ Mr. Alexander W. Lyonasked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will provide his estimate of the net cost per person per week of employing young people in community industry after taking into account the savings in unemployment and other benefits.
§ Mr. Jim Lester,pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 19 July 1979; Vol. 970, c. 800], gave the following answer:
I am informed by the Manpower Services Commission that the estimated net cost per young person per week of community industry was estimated to be less than £25 during 1978–79. This represents about half of the latest estimate of the average gross cost of £52.
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§ Mr. Alexander W. Lyonasked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will define precisely how savings will be made in the youth opportunities programme by shifting provision marginally towards less expensive opportunities.
§ Mr. Jim Lester,pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 19 July 1979; Vol. 970, c. 801], gave the following answer:
I am informed by the Manpower Services Commission that in the first three months of 1979–80 about 65 per cent. of entrants to the youth opportunities programme went into work experience on employers premises—WEEP—which is less expensive than most of the other training available in the programme. This compares with a forecast of about 52 per cent. contained in area plans.
§ Mr. Alexander W. Lyonasked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will provide an analysis of the youth opportunities programme places providing work experience on employer's premises, by standard industrial classification.
§ Mr. Jim Lester,pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 19 July 1979; Vol. 970, c. 801], gave the following answer:
I am informed by the Manpower Services Commission that the new places approved during 1978–79 on schemes providing work experience on employers' premises—WEEP—came from the private sector—85 per cent.—the public sector—13 per cent.—and voluntary and charitable organisations—2 per cent. An analysis of these places by standard industrial classification is not available but the table below gives a broad analysis of the private sector places only:
Percentage of private sector WEEP places approved from April 1978 to March 1979 Industrial Classification Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing 8 Engineering and Metal Manufacture 12 Other Manufacturing 14 Construction and Mining 7 Distributive Trades 31 Financial and Professional Services 5 Miscellaneous Services 23 All Private Sector WEEP 100
§ Mr. Alexander W. Lyonasked the Secretary of State for Employment how many young people who left school at Easter or summer 1978 have (a) not been offered a place on the youth opportunities pro- 50W gramme and (b) been refused a place on the youth opportunities programme.
§ Mr. Jim Lester,pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 19 July 1979; Vol. 970, c. 801], gave the following answer:
I am informed by the Manpower Services Commission that on 5 April 1979, the date of the concluding count of progress towards the Easter undertaking, there remained about 1,600 unemployed 1978 school leavers who had not had the chance of an opportunity under the youth opportunities programme and for whom an offer would have been appropriate. This represented less than 1 per cent. of the 200,000 unemployed school leavers in August 1978 who were potentially covered by the undertaking.
It was estimated that about 40 per cent. of the remaining group of 1,600 young people had been considered by sponsors for one or more opportunities and had been turned down.
§ Mr. Alexander W. Lyonasked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will provide the best available estimate of the net cost per person per week of each of the component elements of the youth opportunities programme, after taking into account savings in social security and other benefits.
§ Mr. Jim Lester,pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 19 July 1979; Vol. 970, c. 801], gave the following answer:
I am informed by the Manpower Services Commission that reliable estimates of the net cost per person per week of the different elements of the youth opportunities programme cannot be made. Taking the programme as a whole, the estimated average net cost per person per week during the second half of 1978–79 was £20 to £25. Estimates of the average gross cost per person per week during that period of the different elements of the programme are given in the table below:
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Estimated average gross cost (£) per person per week during second half of 1978–79 Type of YOP Scheme Work Experience on Employers' Premises 21 Project-based Work Experience 40 Training Workshops 48 Community Service 41 Employment Induction Courses 56 Short Industrial Courses 60 Other Courses 86
§ Mr. Alexander W. Lyonasked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will provide whatever information is available on how many people who have been employed under the special temporary employment programme have progressed into permanent employment.
§ Mr. Jim Lester,pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 19 July 1979; Vol. 970, c. 801], gave the following answer:
I am informed by the Manpower Services Commission that a survey of people's employment after leaving the programme is currently being made, but no information is yet available.