§ Mr. Ray Powellasked the Secretary of State for Employment how many young people aged between 16 anf 21 years were unemployed according to the last available official information; how many have been seeking work for more than six months and for more than 12 months; and what are the Government's plans to ensure there will be substantial reductions of this category of person in the near future.
§ Mr. AlisonInformation is not available for the precise age range requested. The following table gives the information for yoyung people aged under 20 unemployed in the United Kingdom at 8 October.
Number Total 613,496 Unemployed for over 26 and up to 52 weeks 100,557 Unemployed forover 52 weeks 65,252 The Government's economic policies are designed to cut inflation, improve incentives and productivity and so lead to more jobs. Meanwhile, the Youth Opportunities Programme has been expanded this year to provide useful training and work experience for up to 550,000 young unemployed with the aim of helping them into work.