§ Mr. Parryasked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on the latest unemployment figures for Liverpool; and what were the figures for April 1979.
§ Mr. Peter MorrisonAt 8 October 1981, the provisional number of people registered as unemployed in the Liverpool employment office area was 22,277. The comparable figure for April 1979 was 15,251.
The Government are very much aware of the problems facing Liverpool and are committed to doing all they can to help solve them. As the hon. Member will know, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment has been asked by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister to bring together and concentrate the activities of central Government Departments in Merseyside and to work with local government and the private sector to find ways of strengthening its economy and improving its environment.
Also, as part of a special development area, Liverpool will continue to benefit from the full range of regional incentives at the highest level available in Great Britain. These, together with Liverpool's designation as an inner city partnership area and an urban development corporation, and our programme of special employment and training measures, which has recently been expanded, show our determination to do all we can in the short term to help Liverpool. In the longer term, however, a lasting improvement in the employment situation there will depend upon the creation of a sound and competitive economy which the Government's policies aim to achieve.
§ Mr. Parryasked the Secretary of State for Employment what plans Her Majesty's Government have for reducing unemployment amongst young people aged 18 years and under on Merseyside.
§ Mr. Peter MorrisonJobs will come to Merseyside when companies produce goods which customers will buy. I have great confidence that the people of Merseyside will rise to this challenge. Meanwhile, the Government provide the special employment measures to alleviate the effects of unemployment. The youth opportunities programme will this year provide courses of work experience and training to 550,000 young people, and at the end of September 17,000 of these had been on Merseyside. In addition, there are 860 young employees at community industry units in Merseyside. My right hon. Friend will shortly be announcing details of a new training scheme for unemployed young people.
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§ Mr. Parryasked the Secretary of State for Employment what is the total of unemployed in the North-West region at the latest date; and how these figures compare with April 1979.
§ Mr. Peter MorrisonAt October 1981, the number of people registered as unemployed in the North-West region, seasonally adjusted and excluding school leavers, was 392,600. The corresponding figure at April 1979 was 189,400.
§ Mr. Parryasked the Secretary of State for Employment what is the latest total of unemployed amongst young people aged 18 years and under on Merseyside and in Liverpool, respectively; and what were the comparable figures for April 1979.
§ Mr. Peter MorrisonAt October 1981, the numbers of young people aged 18 years and under registered as unemployed in the Merseyside special development area and the Liverpool travel-to-work area were 20,377 and 14,227, respectively.
The corresponding figures at April 1979 were 10,619 and 8,093. The figures for October include some of this year's summer school leavers, whereas the April 1979 figures do not include even the Easter school leavers in that year.
§ Mr. Parryasked the Secretary of State for Employment how many people have been unemployed on Merseyside and in Liverpool, respectively, for more than one, two or three years; and how the figures compare with April 1979.
§ Mr. Peter MorrisonThe following table gives the numbers registered as unemployed at April 1979 and October 1981 in the Merseyside special development area and the Liverpool travel-to-work area for the lengths of time specified.
Merseyside Special Development Area Liverpool travel-to-work area Duration in weeks April 1979 October 1981 April 1979 October 1981 Over 52 and up to 104 weeks 13,310 25,419 10,363 17,884 Over 104 and up to 156 weeks 5,717 8,542 4,417 6,510 Over 156 weeks 10,141 14,034 8,002 11,141
§ Mr. Parryasked the Secretary of State for Employment what is the estimated number of people unemployed in the Toxteth and Vauxhall areas of Liverpool at the latest date.
§ Mr. Peter MorrisonUnemployment statistics are available only for whole employment office areas and not for parts of these areas. Toxteth and Vauxhall are parts of the Liverpool employment office area.
§ Mr. Parryasked the Secretary of State for Employment what is the total number of persons unemployed in the Liverpool, Scotland Exchange constituency at the latest date; and what percentage of the population of the constituency this represents.
§ Mr. Peter MorrisonUnemployment statistics are collected for employment office areas but not for parliamentary constituencies. At 8 October, the number of people registered as unemployed in the Liverpool employment office area was 22,277. This area differs 153W considerably in size from the Liverpool, Scotland Exhange constituency and the numbers unemployed could not be expressed as a percentage of the population of the constituency.
§ Mrs. Renée Shortasked the Secretary of State for Employment (1) what was the percentage of male and female unemployment, respectively, in the (a) Wolverhampton area and (b) the West Midlands in October 1974, October 1979, October 1980 and October 1981;
(2) if he will give a breakdown of the number out of work in (a) the Wolverhampton area and (b) the West Midlands at the latest convenient date by percentage (i) unemployed for up to one year, (ii) unemployed for more than one year but less than two, (iii) unemployed for over two years but less than three and (iv) unemployed for over three years.
§ Mr. Peter MorrisonI shall reply to the hon. Member as soon as possible.