§ Mr. Fosterasked the Secretary of State for Employment what steps he intends to take to ensure that all 1979 school leavers in the Bishop Auckland constituency either obtain employment or are offered an education-training opportunity.
§ Mr. Jim Lester, pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 24 May 1979] gave the following reply:
The employment prospects of school leavers everywhere are dependent on national and local economic factors. The Government intend to create a climate in which there will be more secure and wealth-creating jobs, by removing the barriers to enterprise, reforming taxation and providing employers and others with the incentive to succeed. In the meantime, the youth opportunities programme continues to provide unemployed young people with work preparation and work experience, and the MSC will aim to ensure that no young person who leaves school in the academic year 1978–79 and who remains unemployed by Easter 1980 should be without the offer of a suitable place in the programme. Community industry also has a significant role in helping young people with particular difficulties.