§ Mr. Parkasked the Secretary of State for Employment what is the latest number who are now unemployed in Coventry; and how many have been unemployed for 12 months or over.
§ Mr. Peter BottomleyThe following information is in the Library. On 14 February 1985 the total number of774W unemployed claimants in the Coventry local authority district was 26,453, of whom 13,185 are estimated to have been unemployed for over 12 months.
§ Mr. Parkasked the Secretary of State for Employment what steps he is taking to reduce the number of those unemployed for over 52 weeks in Coventry.
§ Mr. Peter MorrisonI refer the hon. Member to my right hon. Friend's reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Strathkelvin and Bearsden (Mr. Hirst) on 2 April, at column1050, and to the general strategy set out in "Employment: the Challenge for the Nation" (Cmnd. 9474).
§ Mr. Parkasked the Secretary of State for Employment how many people in Coventry between the ages of 40 and 50 years are presently unemployed but engaged in retraining programmes.
§ Mr. Peter MorrisonThe precise information requested is not available. But at the end of February, around 130 unemployed people aged between 40 and 50 years were undertaking retraining on programmes run by the Manpower Services Commission in the Coventry area. In addition some long-term unemployed people in temporary jobs funded under the community programme will be receiving training.
§ Mr. Parkasked the Secretary of State for Employment how many people in Coventry have their wages determined by wages councils.
§ Mr. Peter BottomleyThis information is not available.
§ Mr. Parkasked the Secretary of State for Employment if he has any plans to increase the allocation of community programme places in Coventry.
§ Mr. Peter MorrisonI refer the hon. Member to my reply to the hon. Member for Dunfermline, East (Mr. Brown) on 25 March at column38.
§ Mr. Parkasked the Secretary of State for Employment how many offences in Coventry under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act were identified in the latest available year; and how many prosecutions took place.
§ Mr. Peter BottomleyThe information is not available in the form requested. In 1984 factory inspectors laid eight informations in Coventry under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and its associated legislation. These resulted in eight convictions.
§ Mr. Parkasked the Secretary of State for Employment if he is satisfied that the training in new technologies available under the youth training scheme in Coventry is adequate to meet the need.
§ Mr. Peter MorrisonYes. Nearly 900 of the places in the youth training scheme available to young people in the Coventry area involve significant elements of training in new technologies. In addition, all youth training scheme trainees receive an introduction to computer literacy and information technology during their time on the scheme.
§ Mr. Parkasked the Secretary of State for Employment how many people in the Coventry travel-to-work area have received the enterprise allowance since its inception; how many are presently in receipt of the allowance; and how many continue trading after 18 months.
775W
§ Mr. Peter BottomleyI regret the figures are not available in the form requested. However, in the Coventry and Warwickshire area by 8 March 1985, 1,818 people had joined the enterprise allowance scheme since its inception. On the same date 687 people were receiving the allowance in the Coventry and Warwickshire area.
Information on how businesses fare when payment of the allowance ceases is not yet available for the national scheme but experience in the pilot areas suggests that about 70 per cent. of all businesses supported are still trading up to 18 months after joining the scheme.
§ Mr. Parkasked the Secretary of State for Employment what percentage of the registered insured population, male and female, are in part-time employment in the Coventry travel-to-work area.
§ Mr. Peter BottomleyThe information is not available in the precise form requested. Information about the numbers of employees, male and female, in full-time and part-time employment can be provided but only for those dates when censuses of employment are taken.
Censuses of employment have been taken triennially since 1978 and the latest results are for September 1981. At that time, there were 191,000 employees in employment in the Coventry travel-to-work area with 20 per cent. working part-time. There were 114,000 male workers and 77,000 female workers with 4.4 per cent. of the males and 42.3 per cent. of the females working part-time.
§ Mr. Parkasked the Secretary of State for Employment how many places there are in sheltered employment in the Coventry travel-to-work area; and if there is a waiting list.
§ Mr. Peter BottomleyIn the Coventry travel-to-work area, defined as the area covered by Coventry and Nuneaton jobcentres and Hinkley and Bedworth employment offices, there is a total of 212 filled places supported under the sheltered employment programme. A further four places are expected to be filled shortly. There are 72 severely disabled people on waiting lists for places in the sheltered workshops in the area. The Manpower Services Commission will continue to look for opportunities to place them in suitable provision including places created under the sheltered placement scheme.
§ Mr. Parkasked the Secretary of State for Employment what level of funding is devoted by the Manpower Services Commission to the Coventry travel-to-work area.
§ Mr. Peter MorrisonI regret that the information is not available in the precise form requested. However, it is estimated that about £29 million was spent by the Manpower Services Commission in 1984–85 in the Coventry and Warwickshire area, exclusive of administrative costs, and the operating costs of jobcentres.