§ Mr. McLeishTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment (1) what is the total number of quarterly attenders reporting to unemployment benefit offices in Great Britain and in each of the standard regions, Scotland and Wales;
(2) whether quarterly attenders aged over 50 years are included in the published monthly unemployment figures.
§ Mr. EggarThe following table shows the number of quarterly attenders for November 1989 in Great Britain and in each of the standard regions, Scotland and Wales.
449W
Quarterly Attenders in November 1989 Number Great Britain 149,572 South East 25,985 East Anglia 2,756
Number South West 8,032 West Midlands 18,627 East Midlands 10,257 Yorkshire and Humberside 18,397 North West 22,257 North 13,770 Scotland 21,674 Wales 7,547 The provision of signing quarterly is mainly for those aged 50 and over, who have been unemployed for one year and have no entitlement to unemployment benefit.