§ Mr. McLeishTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many 16 and 17-year-olds were eligible but had not been placed on YTS at the date when the most recent information was available.
§ Mr. Lang[holding answer 7 November 1988]: All 16 and 17-year-olds are eligible to apply for YTS but many do not do so. Excluding this summer's school leavers, on 2 November there were 6,592 young people who had applied for a YTS place and were receiving bridging allowance, as against some 12,000 unfilled YTS places.
§ Mr. McLeishTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will provide an estimate of the total number of 16 and 17-year-olds who will not have received an offer of a YTS place on the termination of the bridging allowance on 5 November in Scotland.
§ Mr. Lang[holding answer 7 November 1988]: It is the responsibility primarily of the local authority careers service to ensure that young people who have applied for a YTS place, and made themselves available to discuss possible places, are put in contact with managing agents to ensure they are offered a start on a YTS scheme before the end of the guarantee period. I am satisfied that the Training Agency has made available more than sufficient places to meet the potential uptake and I have therefore made no national estimate of a shortfall in offers.