§ 63. Mr. LoydenTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment what steps he intends to take to create employment opportunities for the inner city jobless men, women and youth.
§ Mr. EggarMy Department will continue to place high priority on the encouragement of enterprise and new and existing businesses in the inner city, and on helping inner city residents improve their skills and qualifications for work. The Department operates a wide range of national but flexible programmes and services directly relevant to these aims, as well as special measures for inner city areas such as schools-industry compacts and the pilot job interview guarantee scheme.
The fact that unemployment in the 57 urban programme areas in England has fallen by over a third since March 1988 demonstrates the effectiveness of this approach, which is pursued in partnership and close collaboration with other Departments and agencies working to improve inner city conditions and economic prospects.