§ 42. Mr. Ray Powellasked the Secretary of State for Employment how many firms are participating in the youth opportunities programme and if he is satisfied that the undertaking to ensure the unemployed young people a job or a place in the scheme before Easter will be fulfilled.
§ Mr. Peter MorrisonI am informed by the Manpower Services Commission that it is not possible to give an accurate figure of the number of firms currently sponsoring schemes under the youth opportunities programme except at disproportionate cost. However there are some 100,000 schemes run by Private sector sponsors.
The current scale of the programme is much larger than in previous years. From April to November 1980 some 222,400 young people entered the programme, 140,200 of whom were school leavers. This compares with 100,600 school leavers for the same period in 1979.
It is too early to make a statement about the Easter undertaking to school leavers but every effort is being made to provide sufficient places and fill them.