§ 21. Mr. Norman Hoggasked the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the present level of youth unemployment; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Alexander FletcherOn 15 April 1982, 25,000 young people under the age of 18 were registered as unemployed in Scotland. I recognise the difficulties faced by young people, and school leavers in particular, entering the labour market. We have accordingly made additional resources available to expand and improve the youth opportunities programme in the current year, and are making very substantial resources available from September 1983 for the new youth training scheme, which will remove the threat of unemployment from 16-year-olds, provide opportunities for unemployed 17-year-old school leavers and help young people acquire the skills they need to obtain and keep a job.