HC Deb 05 December 1985 vol 88 cc326-7W
Mr. Winnick

asked the Paymaster General if he will state the percentage of those unemployed for 12 months and more in each region of the United Kingdom, the level in April 1979 and the percentage difference between the figures in the regions.

Mr. Alan Clark

The following table gives the available information. The comparisons are affected by the change in the basis of the count in October 1982, and the 1983 Budget provisions which mean that some men, mainly aged 60 or over, no longer need to sign on at unemployment benefit offices to receive benefit.

Region Figures for October
Yorkshire and Humberside 20,186
Total for Great Britain 165,487

Mr. Hancock

asked the Paymaster General (1) what is the total number of 17-year-olds in full-time work as a percentage of that age group;

(2) what is the total number of 16-year-olds in full-time work as a percentage of that age group.

Mr. Alan Clark

Information in the precise form requested is not available. The latest available relevant estimates are shown in the following table:

Young people in Great Britain in January 1985
Numbers Per cent.
Age 16 years*
Total population of which: 870,000 100

Numbers Per cent.
(a) in full-time education of YTS, or claimant unemployed 740,000 85
(b) other: mainly employed outside YTS† 130,000 15
Age 17 years*
Total population of which: 895,000 100
(a) in full-time education or YTS, or claimant unemployed 470,000 53
(b) other: mainly employed outside YTS† 425,000 47

* Ages as at 31 August 1984.

† Mainly those in employment but excluding those employed under the youth training scheme and including some who were seeking work but not claiming benefit and others who were neither employed nor seeking work—for example, because of domestic responsibilities. This group is obtained by subtracting from the total population of the age group those estimated to be in full-time education or in the youth training scheme and the claimant unemployed: no subdivision is available showing numbers in full-time or part-time employment.

Mr. Hickmet

asked the Paymaster General if he will list in order those parliamentary constituencies in which unemployment has been reduced by 5 per cent. or more since June 1983, giving the percentage reduction in each case.

Mr. Alan Clark

The following information is in the Library. The table shows those parliamentary constituencies where unemployment has been reduced by five per cent. or more between June 1983 and October 1985. The change will be affected by seasonal factors and by the 1983 Budget provisions, which meant that certain men mainly aged 60 and over no longer need to sign on to obtain benefit. Comparisons over the period cannot be made for a few parliamentary constituencies where the figures are affected by the late conversion of some unemployment benefit offices to the computerised system of counting claimants.

Parliamentary constituency Percentage reduction
Corby 14.8
Roxburgh and Berwickshire 13.9
Glanford and Scunthorpe 10.5
Banff and Buchan, 10.1
Bosworth 9.9
Kettering 9.1
Aylesbury 9.0
Stoke-on-Trent, North 8.6
Aberavon 7.3
West Bromwich, East 6.9
Harlow 6.7
Solihull 6.7
Stamford and Spalding 6.6
Birmingham, Yardley 6.5
Nuneaton 6.2
Norfolk, North-West 6.0
Bedfordshire, North 5.6
Stoke-on-Trent, Central 5.5
Hertfordshire, West 5.3
Thurrock 5.0
Stoke-on-Trent, South 5.0